


a place where I feel at home

by wolfish_willow



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Anxiety, Brotherly Steve Harrington, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Bonding, Found Family, Gen, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Minor Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, POV Steve Harrington, Post-Season/Series 02, Protective Eleven | Jane Hopper, Protective Jim "Chief" Hopper, Self-Esteem Issues, Steve Harrington Can Cook, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Steve Harrington-centric, but as you know by now, he will get some, they are...uh...completely absent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28766514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfish_willow/pseuds/wolfish_willow
Summary: The sound of something moving snaps him out of his thoughts. When he turns to see what made it, his chest tightens. Hunched asleep in a chair, arms folded in front of him and head lolled forward, is Hopper. Steve watches as he shifts again, readjusting his shoulders and stretching his legs out in front of him.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Steve Harrington & The Party
Comments: 93
Kudos: 191
Collections: Fandom Trumps Hate 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MrsEvadneCake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsEvadneCake/gifts).



> Written for Fandom Trumps Hate 2020.
> 
> Thank you so much MrsEvadneCake! I genuinely hope that you enjoy this fic. 
> 
> All 7 chapters are finished. I've just gotten the last few chapters back from my beta, so I'll be updating every couple of days until the whole thing is posted.
> 
> Thanks to everyone in the Stoncy discord who have been so supportive while I worked on what became the longest thing I've written in years. And a big shout out to my beta, who literally _just_ finished watching all of Stranger Things in the last couple of months! You're the best, Abby ;_;
> 
> And one more thank you to [dhazellouise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dhazellouise) for making the awesome gif cover art for this story! It's wonderful, seriously. I love it!

The air around Steve is sharp and unpleasant and the smell of it is what wakes him up. Not the extra firm mattress or stiff sheets beneath him. Not the thin, scratchy blanket covering him that is doing very little to keep his legs warm.

This isn't his bedroom or the couch in the living room that he falls asleep in on nights when he can't stand the quiet in his bedroom and plays any show still airing so late. There is no faint scent of chlorine from the pool outside or the potpourri his mother insists sits out in little bowls around the house even though they're hardly home enough to notice. 

Instead there is the sharp sting of some kind of harsh cleaning product that makes his nose twitch as though he can get away from it.

Then the pain starts.

His face feels like one big bruise. Steve isn't sure how he didn't notice right away. There's no ignoring it now, especially when it flares up again at the way he scrunches his face.

Steve blinks his sore eyes open, squinting as he takes in the bland white ceiling above him. The light in the room is dim but bright enough that he closes his eyes immediately against it with a groan. Taking as deep a breath as he can manage with his chest feeling like as much of a bruise as his face, Steve opens them again slowly. It's still unpleasant but easier than before.

Turning his head carefully he notices the strange bar attached to the side of the mattress, a pitcher of water sitting on a tray just too far out of reach, and the plastic bracelet around his wrist.

The hospital. Right. He'd gone to the hospital last night. Or was it this morning? It's hard to remember how late it was when the Byers and Hopper showed up. Steve had been in and out since they got back from the tunnels and he still isn't entirely sure how he didn't crash into a mailbox or five on the way.

Hopper had taken one look at his face and the way Steve had trouble keeping his eyes open and set an unconscious Eleven on the couch with her friends before helping Steve stand from his spot on the floor.

The ride to the hospital and getting checked out is a blur. More like a dream than something that actually happened. Here he is, though, lying on an uncomfortable hospital bed with only a scratchy blanket for company. Now that he thinks about it, he remembers that they kept him overnight in case of any complications. It doesn't seem to have been necessary. He only _feels_ like death. He's pretty sure he isn't actually dead.

Dead people don't feel pain, right? At this point, he wouldn't put it past the universe if it decided to bend that rule for him.

Hopper must have gone home at some point. Steve doesn't blame him. Hospitals are the worst places he can think of outside of those tunnels with the living vines and demo-dogs running around. 

Maybe the hospital isn't so bad compared to where he'd been last night. He can't believe they all made it out of there in one piece.

What does it say about him, he wonders, that his worst injuries are from an asshole with a temper instead of the literal monsters they fought last night?

The sound of something moving snaps him out of his thoughts. When he turns to see what made it, his chest tightens. Hunched asleep in a chair, arms folded in front of him and head lolled forward, is Hopper. Steve watches as he shifts again, readjusting his shoulders and stretching his legs out in front of him.

Steve can't imagine Hopper would have been able to fall asleep like that if the day before hadn't been so exhausting. There's no way he's comfortable. It doesn't make sense that he's here, sleeping in a position that he's going to regret when he wakes up, when he could just as easily have gone back to the Byers' house and stretched out somewhere. The floor might actually be more forgiving than where he is right now.

His parents are out of town. His dad is finishing up some business before Thanksgiving and his mom followed him to make sure that's all he does. He can't remember if anyone tried contacting them when he was checked in. Someone must have. It doesn't matter either way, he guesses. He isn't a kid and he doesn't need them to come and get him or make sure he's okay. He has the thought that they probably wouldn't come even if they _were_ in town but he shoves it away like he always does when he thinks about them too hard.

As much as he would have denied it, it's nice not to be alone. Having someone here, the same someone who was worried enough about him from one look to bring him here, warms him from the inside. It distracts him from the way his head and face hurt for a full minute.

Hopper snorts and winces when he lifts his head. Steve doesn't smile at the way Hopper squints and rubs his neck but it's less about the way his face wouldn't appreciate it and more not wanting Hopper to kill him if he sees. It might seem like more effort than it's worth to kill the person he spent so much time getting checked into a hospital, but Steve isn't willing to put anything past a man who decided adopting a psychic preteen Steve isn't sure he'd ever met made sense. 

"You're awake," Hopper says in a tired, gruff voice. The smile that accompanies it is a surprise.

"Yeah," Steve says slowly. He's grateful that Hopper stayed with him but now that they're both awake he has no idea what to say. How does he tell him how much he appreciates everything without sounding as pathetic as he feels? He's eighteen, not a child. No wonder the only people who seem to like him right now are a bunch of thirteen year olds.

"How are you feeling?" Hopper asks, stretching out and sitting up in his chair. "Any pain?"

"I'm okay."

The way Hopper inspects his face, eyes lingering over the bruises Steve is sure are worse now than they'd been last night, makes it obvious how he feels about that answer. Steve sighs.

"My face hurts."

Hopper nods. "I'm not surprised. Asshole did a number on you. I'll find a nurse, see if they can give you anything."

He stands, wincing as he twists his back a few times.

"Damn chair," he grumbles quietly, patting one of Steve's shoulders with a gentle hand before walking out of the room.

Steve focuses on breathing. It's fine. _He's_ fine. He just can't remember the last time someone reassured him like that.

* * *

"Your fan club expects an appearance before you head home."

Steve pauses, jacket sleeve halfway up his arm. Getting dressed has been a slow process but he can't accept Hopper's offer to help. He's way too old for that kind of thing. His chest and face hurt but his arms are mostly just sore. Swinging around nail bats and beating down monsters is enough to make anyone's muscles ache. 

He can handle getting back into his clothes if he takes it easy. 

"What?" he asks. Innocent is not a good look on Hopper. It mostly creeps Steve out.

"Henderson is still mad I didn't bring him along," Hopper says with a smirk. That expression fits him much better.

Hard as it is to believe, Steve is grateful for the mess that is his face right now. It has to be impossible to tell that he's blushing. Right? If he ignores the way Hopper is obviously holding back laughter, he might be able to get through this without any extra trauma. He can't deny how good it feels to know that Dustin cares enough about him to be mad that he didn't get to come and make sure Steve was okay. They've only really known each other for a day.

It might not last, but it's nice to know the kid cares.

"How's..." Steve starts, trailing off when he realizes he isn't sure which name he should use. Hopper's amusement seems to ease off and he nods his head a bit like he's coaxing Steve to continue. "Is E...leven okay?"

The name feels wrong on his tongue and in his head. He doesn't know her. Barely knows anything _about_ her beyond that she has superpowers and the kids love her and she did most of the heavy lifting in saving the world. But a number for a name is wrong. He can't imagine how someone could do that. Name a baby like she isn't even a person. It makes his skin crawl.

He knows she has a nickname, but that feels even stranger to say when he's never spoken to her.

The rest of the humor fades from Hopper's face but he doesn't look worried. He looks softer than Steve has ever seen him, though it's not like they've had a lot of interactions before all of this. Steve's shoulders still relax. Hopper wouldn't be so calm if anything was wrong with his adopted daughter.

"She's tired," Hopper says. Steve can't even imagine. He's not sure how she's even awake. "Woke up not too long after we left."

Steve swallows, finally pulling his jacket the rest of the way on. He tugs at the hem of it and glances at the floor. "You didn't have to stay—"

"Shut up," Hopper says, cutting him off. The words are harsher than his tone. Steve doesn't know what to do with that or the gentle hand Hopper rests on his shoulder. "Of course I wasn't gonna leave you here by yourself."

Looking at him and then away again, Steve dips his head. He doesn't understand, not really, but he _is_ grateful. "Thanks."

Giving Steve's shoulder a light squeeze, Hopper nods and lets go. "Ready to get out of here?"

* * *

Glad as he is to put the hospital behind him, Steve isn't looking forward to going home. He knows he'll be able to stretch out on his bed—or more likely the couch where he can turn the TV on and let it drown out the quiet. Climbing stairs sounds like too much effort when he knows he'll just end up lying there awake without anything to distract him.

"How you holding up?"

Steve slowly tears his gaze away from the road outside, turning to face Hopper instead. He shrugs and leans his head back against his seat's headrest. 

"Fine," he says and he mostly means it. He's still alive and that hadn't seemed very likely the night before. He isn't in the hospital anymore. But he is also on his way home where he's going to be alone longer than he cares to think about now that he won't even have Nancy to come over anymore. Surviving the night was a good thing but his future is looking pretty bleak when he lets himself think about it. Nancy is—was—the only person he spends any significant amount of time with since he realized what a dick he'd been with Tommy and Carol. Finding out that she doesn't love him, that she never loved him?

He's not looking forward to going back to school anytime soon.

Hopper drums his fingers against the steering wheel and nods. He looks briefly at Steve, eying him up and down like he'd done when he first got back to the Byers' and realized Steve wasn't in the same shape he'd been in when they left.

"Good," Hopper says eventually. He sounds like he means it, like he cares whether Steve feels okay. They don't even know each other. Shifting in his seat, Steve rubs the tip of his pointer finger over his jeans. Even when his parents are home, they don't generally ask him how he is outside of the occasional question about whether he's dating someone or if he's still playing basketball. He doesn't really know how to deal with someone, an adult, being concerned about him.

But here Hopper is after spending hours sleeping uncomfortably in a hospital chair to make sure Steve wasn't alone. Making sure he's okay.

Steve breathes slowly, turning to look back out the window for a minute before closing his eyes. He thinks he feels Hopper looking at him but he's probably imagining it and he doesn't open his eyes again until the truck comes to a stop.

His house is the first thing he sees when he looks out the window. The driveway is empty since his car is still at the Byers' house. Just one more thing to look forward to doing. Hopefully he can get it while Jonathan isn't around but he doesn't know when that will be. Even though he's with Nancy now, Jonathan just got his brother back. Steve doesn't think he'll be letting the kid out of his sight anytime soon. He won't be surprised if Will never gets to leave the house again. The kid has been through a lot.

What is wrong with the world? Little kids being raised as weapons with numbers for names. Ending up in another dimension for _days_ and surviving only to end up possessed by something else from that world? If Steve had been the one to go through that—if he _survived_ —he would be insane. He doesn't know how any of them can just keep going after that.

Hopper is looking at him when he turns to thank him for the ride. Steve can't figure out how to thank him for sticking around when his own parents couldn't be reached to find out their son was in the hospital. 

"Thanks," is all he can get out. It isn't nearly enough for any of it. Steve can't manage anything else. Not while he's tired and sore and not looking forward to spending the next couple of days alone before he goes back to school, just so he can get through that alone, too. Maybe he'll skip a week. It's not like anyone will care. His parents would have to be home to notice, let alone do anything about it, and they won't be back for at least that long. "See you later."

Steve pauses before opening the door when he feels Hopper's hand on his shoulder. "You're just picking up whatever clothes you need to get through a couple days."

"What?" Steve asks, smoothing out the confused scrunch his face makes when it makes the pain flare back up. He needs to try and remember not to move his face for things right now.

Hopper sighs, but the easy way he squeezes Steve's shoulder doesn't feel annoyed or frustrated. He even gives a small, reassuring smile that leaves Steve frozen in place. "Get what you need for a couple days away from home. You're coming back with me. I'd feel better knowing you're one hundred percent before I send you back to an empty house."

"I'll be fine," Steve tries but he doesn't put much into it. He doesn't want to see Nancy and Jonathan together, and doesn't particularly want to spend more time in the Byers' house. He wants to be by himself even less.

"Maybe," Hopper concedes with a nod. "But give an old man a little piece of mind?"

Steve huffs a quiet laugh. He goes to nod, then remembers that it's not a good idea. "Sure. I'm probably gonna sleep either way, but if it'll make you feel better."

Hopper rolls his eyes and pats Steve on the shoulder before letting go.

"Hurry up," he says, turning the radio up. He'd had it nearly off for the drive home and still keeps the volume low enough that it doesn't bother Steve's head. "I want to check on El and we could all use some real sleep."

"Yeah." Steve finally opens the door and gets out of the truck. Before he closes it to head up to the house, Steve turns and leans in a bit. "Hey, uh. Thanks."

Hopper looks at him for a few long seconds and nods. "Sure thing. Now," he jerks his head in the direction of the house, "don't take too long."

Patting the side of the truck, Steve turns around and heads up the door.

"Don't forget your toothbrush!" he hears from behind him and when he looks, Hopper has his head sticking out from the window.

Steve snorts a quiet, "Okay _dad_ ," to himself but feels lighter now than he had the whole ride home. He gives a lazy wave over his shoulder before going inside.

* * *

"You might as well get out. Henderson won't be happy until he sees you're not dead."

If Steve could roll his eyes right now, he would. How is it that Hopper can tease him with just a look? The tone of his voice is serious but the way his eyebrow is raised and the smile clear in his eyes if not stretched across his face, says more than words ever could. Steve sighs, pushing the door open and getting out of the truck. Hopper is probably right.

No one has to know that Steve is affected by the fact that Dustin seems to care so much about his well-being. They've known each other barely over a day. Fighting monsters together hadn't done anything to bring him closer to Nancy or Jonathan. He doesn't know why it's different with Dustin, why this kid was so worried about him that he was genuinely angry he didn't get to come along for a mostly boring hospital visit.

He gets halfway to the house when the door flies open, Dustin running out. Steve freezes when Dustin keeps coming at him, braced for an impact that thankfully doesn't come.

"You're okay!" Dustin yells before throwing his arms around Steve, surprisingly gently for how excited he seems.

"Uh."

Steve has no idea what is happening right now. He gets that Dustin was worried. Appreciates it, even. Somehow, though, he hadn't expected anything like this when Dustin saw him again. Eventually, when it seems like Dustin isn't going to let go until he does, Steve returns the hug. The kid is shorter than him but easy to pull in a little tighter.

Hopper continues up to the house, eying Dustin and Steve with a smirk. Steve almost sticks his tongue out but holds back at the last minute. He's pretty sure it would only amuse Hopper even more.

Dustin pulls back just as Steve sees Max and Lucas coming out of the house.

"I still don't see why I couldn't come with you guys."

Steve scoffs. "You would have hated it."

"Still—"

"Dustin," Steve says, cutting him off. He puts his hands on Dustin's shoulders and gives him a gentle shake. "I'm fine. They only kept me there to make sure nothing was wrong. Obviously, nothing was. But it was boring as hell. You would have gone crazy after the first hour."

Dustin pouts but he nods and Steve nods back. With an affectionate squeeze, and still not sure how this random kid has him feeling this fond, Steve lets go. He turns his attention to the other two. Lucas' hands are in his pockets and he's standing close enough that his and Max's arms brush when Max shifts on her feet. Neither of them look particularly comfortable.

"What's up?"

Lucas looks at Max. She doesn't look back, but she moves her head in what might generously be called a nod. Lucas seems to understand what it means because he takes a step forward and looks Steve in the eyes.

"Thanks," he says. Steve glances at Dustin like he'll know what's going on. Dustin shrugs, but doesn't seem confused. Before Steve can ask, Lucas continues. "For stopping Billy."

Right. It's not that Steve forgot the reason he and Hargrove fought in the first place. It's just that so many things happened one after the other. It all feels like a bad dream except for the way his body hurts. He's not even sure it's all from Hargrove. Between beating back demo-dogs and his and Hargrove's fight and going down into, and then back out of, the tunnels, Steve is surprised he can move at all today.

"He shouldn't have come after you like that. You're okay?"

They all seemed more than ready to help distract the demo-dogs for Eleven last night that he hadn't even thought about it. After the tunnels, it took everything in him to get them back to the house without crashing the car. He should have made sure Lucas was okay before they went down there—shouldn't have let them go at _all_ but that, at least, he knows would have been impossible. At the very least, he should have asked when they were safe at the house and waiting for everyone else to get back.

"I'm fine," Lucas says with a shrug. He doesn't seem to be hurt, but he still looks uneasy. Steve doesn't know if he's uncomfortable with the conversation or worried for Max or something else altogether. Having spent even less time with Lucas than with Dustin, Steve doesn't feel like he has the right to ask, but he hopes the kid's friends help him deal with whatever he's upset about.

"Cool," Steve says. He shoves his hands into his own jacket pockets. Awkwardness is starting to creep up on him. It feels like his whole morning has been nothing but a back of forth between being awkward and over emotional about things. Maybe that's where it's all stemming from, actually.

Lucas nods and says, "Cool," back before reaching out and tugging Dustin away by the sleeve.

"Hey!" Dustin stumbles after him. "What're you—"

"Shut up, you can come back in a minute."

Lucas jerks his head in Max's direction. She still isn't looking at any of them but she does roll her eyes.

"Oh, right. Sorry, we have to go help Mike real quick," Dustin says in a rush, letting Lucas pull him to the house.

"Subtle they are not."

Max snorts, finally looking up at him. "Not even a little."

"What's up, Red?"

She scrunches up her face at the nickname. At least he assumes that's why she's making that face. He doesn't know her well enough to be sure.

Max shrugs and her eyes drop so she's looking more at his shoulder than his face. "I'm sorry."

Thrown, Steve tilts his head. "What?"

"If I hadn't looked out the window, Billy wouldn't have known I was here and he wouldn't have—"

"Woah woah woah, no way."

Max takes a step back, looking surprised and maybe a little scared and that's _not_ okay. In fact, it kind of makes him want a rematch. One where there aren't any plates around that Hargrove can use for a cheap shot.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Hargrove is the one who decided he was going to be a dick. All of this," he gestures to his face. "It's not on you at all."

"But—"

"Nope." Steve wants to reach out, pat her shoulder or something but he doesn't want to freak her out. "I get it, if you can't feel it right now. But you're not responsible for Hargrove. He's been giving me shit since he got here. If we didn't fight last night, it would have happened some other time."

She doesn't say anything for a while and Steve is content to wait. He wonders absently what's taking Hopper so long, but isn't worried about it.

With a sigh that sounds relieved, she nods. Her shoulders fall, like she can finally relax. Taking a chance, Steve moves to pull her into a hug. He gives her plenty of time to move if she doesn't want one. Hugging people that aren't Nancy is different. Not what he's used to. It isn't something his parents do with him or each other and he definitely didn't with his old friends. But Dustin's had felt nice and he's hoping Max will feel the same way. Besides, she looks like she can use one.

She doesn't pull away. She melts into him, only raising her arms enough to hold onto his shirt rather than wrapping them around him. After a minute, he rubs her back and pulls away just as slowly as he'd hugged her.

She rubs at slightly damp eyes and clears her throat. "Don't…"

"Never happened," Steve says with a wink. His bruises don't appreciate it but the grateful look she gives him is worth the twinge of pain. Taking a step back, Max smiles before turning and jogging back into the house. She waves from the door before disappearing inside. He sighs, hoping the guilt—guilt that shouldn't be hers to feel at all—doesn't stick around for too long.

Before Steve even takes a step toward the house to see what's keeping them, Dustin comes back out. Hopper trails behind him, Eleven at his side. Her hair isn't so severely slicked back as the night before. It's still full of product and obviously slept in, sticking up and out all over the place. The dark makeup around her eyes is even more smudged. He knows she wasn't awake when they came back last night, but he's surprised no one washed that stuff off for her. It can't be comfortable.

As they walk past him to the truck, Steve notices they're holding hands. He'd like to make a face at Hopper, get him back for his teasing earlier. He doesn't. This is the girl who saved the world last night.

She's so young.

Despite the dark clothes and makeup, maybe even _because_ of it, she looks younger than the rest of them. This is a child who was brought up in a lab, raised like she was less than human. If she wants to hold her dad's hand, Steve isn't going to be a dick about it. For all he knows, she's never had the chance to do this before. Every kid should know what it's like to hold their parent's hand when they need to.

"Here!"

Steve blinks, stepping back from the paper Dustin is shoving too close to his face for comfort.

"Oh, sorry," Dustin says, pulling away enough that Steve can focus on what he's trying to give him. "Here."

Slowly, Steve takes it from him. It's small, jagged around one edge like it was torn in half. One side is covered in a messy scrawl of numbers. A phone number, he realizes. Confused, he tilts his head at the note and the kid who gave it to him.

"You have to call me," Dustin explains, earnest and maybe even a little uncomfortable all at once. Dustin seems so unapologetically enthusiastic about things, it's weird to see him that way over this. "So I know you're okay."

Clearing his throat, Steve carefully folds the paper and puts it in his jacket pocket.

"Sure," he says, putting his free hand on Dustin's head and giving it a shake.

He expects Dustin to duck away or roll his eyes but the kid just goes with it, smiling up at him.

"Any day now, Harrington."

Steve rolls _his_ eyes, head be damned.

"Like I'm the one who took forever," he grumbles, making Dustin laugh. Smiling, he pats Dustin's head, then the pocket with the phone number in it. "Talk to you later."

"Cool."

"Yeah, cool."

Steve heads back to the truck, feeling better than he has all morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't even offer anything when the posts started going around last year. I figured no one would bid on me, what with writing for a small-ish fandom, and not even for any of the major ships. Then when I did, I promised somewhere around 2.5k words. Now here we are. Over 30k words of Steve bonding with the Hoppers.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Comments and kudos are appreciated <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy the second chapter. I looked it over one more time before posting, but please let me know if you see any typos!

Waking up the second time around is a completely different experience. For one, after a brief moment of confusion when he opens his eyes, Steve remembers that he's in Hopper's cabin. In Hopper's room. For another, the blanket covering him is thicker and softer than the one in the hospital. The bed, while not as nice as Steve's, is miles above what he'd slept in last night.

Sitting up, Steve carefully stretches his arms up. He yawns and winces at the way it pulls at his face.

"Ow."

Dropping back onto the mattress, Steve sighs. He can't wait until he heals up. It's going to be hell while he can't even yawn without pain. Content to spend a few more minutes letting himself just be, he sprawls his limbs out on the bed Hopper insisted he take when they got here. 

Steve is grateful that Hopper didn't make him take the couch. He's pretty sure Hopper knows it since he didn't protest very hard about using the man's bed. It's embarrassing, but Steve felt better at the time knowing there was an extra door between him and outside. The way Hopper kept looking between the front door and the one to Eleven's room, Steve thinks he had the opposite problem. He seemed to want to be nearest to the front and Steve appreciates it. Knowing someone was out there is the only reason he slept so hard.

There's some quiet shuffling outside the door so someone must be awake and moving around. Steve sighs, not quite ready to face the day. Staying in bed is so much more appealing. It's probably better that he gets up. He doesn't want Hopper to regret bringing him home by hogging his bed for too long. 

Hopper might end up regretting it anyway when Steve is up and does something to annoy him. He's gotten pretty used to annoying adults just by being in the same room as them. At least if he's up, though, Hopper can take back his bed for a nap or something.

Maybe Steve can make breakfast. He hopes they have food here. Getting out of bed sounds hard enough. Having to go out for something to eat isn't going to happen.

When he finally leaves the room, he finds Eleven standing in the kitchen holding a box of Eggos. She pauses in opening it when she spots him, staring up at him with big eyes that are mostly smudge free.

"Morning," he says quietly, seeing Hopper still asleep on the couch. After the last couple of days Steve isn't surprised he's dead to the world now that he's back in his own space.

"Morning," she says after an uncomfortably long couple of seconds. "Breakfast?"

Steve shrugs but his stomach growls at the thought of food now that it's right in front of him. "Sure."

She nods and continues what she was doing. Her expression is so serious that he could almost think making some Eggos is just as important as stopping a monster. He smiles because it's kind of cute but it's sad, too. He wonders how controlled she is, whether she knows how to be free with her expressions. If she knows that it's okay to show what she's feeling.

Or maybe putting frozen waffles into the toaster is that serious for her.

"So, uh," Steve doesn't know where to start. At least with the other kids, he'd spent most of their time together helping them out. Hopper, too, had been part of the planning. Her, though. Steve doesn't think he spoke to her at all after she showed up at the house. He pushes through because he's going to be here a couple of days and doesn't want it to be this awkward the whole time. Besides, she's a kid. A kid with superpowers but still a kid. "I've heard a couple different names for you. Which, uh. Which one should I use?"

Walking the rest of the way into the small kitchen space, Steve sits down on one of the chairs. The whole place is small. It makes sense with it being a cabin but he hopes he doesn't end up too much in the way while he's here.

Eleven looks him up and down from her spot by the toaster. He smiles, trying to show he's not scary or anything. Not that anyone would think that, covered in bruises the way he is. It's pretty clear that he's not a threat to regular people. He's even less so to someone who can throw him around with her mind.

"El," she says, turning around as the toaster pops. She takes the waffles out and sets them on some plates. Steve can't help the way his face twitches at the assortment of sweets she puts on the table to go with them.

"Are you allowed to have this much—" he cuts off at the look she gives him. Holding his hands up, he shakes his head. "Whatever. Just don't expect me to put any of that on mine."

She shrugs, probably fine if it means there's more for her, and proceeds to add another dollop of whipped cream on top of her waffle. Steve feels queasy just looking at it but that could be the hunger getting to him. He can't actually remember the last time he ate. Maybe in the morning before he and Dustin went out to try and find Dart, but he isn't sure.

Pulling the plate of plain waffles closer, Steve picks up the syrup and drizzles a normal amount on top.

They eat in silence. It's still kind of awkward but Steve's had worse meals. He doesn't get the feeling she's counting down the minutes until one of them is finished. He gets that one a lot when his parents have breakfast at home. They never say anything but they don't have to.

"You helped my friends."

Pausing mid-chew, Steve looks at her, his eyes wider than feels comfortable. "What?"

She puts down her fork and stares at him. He finishes what's in his mouth to do the same.

"In the tunnels. Dustin told me."

"Oh." Steve scratches the side of his neck. They hadn't given him much of a choice. It isn't like he could have let them go down there alone. "Yeah."

"And with...Billy?"

The way she hesitates with his name reminds Steve of how he'd done the same thing talking to Hopper about her.

"I mean, I didn't do a great job at it," he says, pointing at his mess of a face.

"Still helped," she says without missing a beat. "Thank you."

Steve watches her for a moment. Her expression is more open than he's seen so far. She bites her lip and stares at him with wide eyes and looks very much her age. Reaching out, he slowly rests his hand on one of hers.

"Any time," he says and he means it. He hopes that with the gate closed there won't be a next time. And it's not likely he'll be seeing much of her, or any of the kids, after he's healed up and back home. None of that matters. If he can help them, if Hargrove decides to mess with them, he'll do what he can to keep them from getting hurt.

El looks at their hands, then back up at him and smiles.

* * *

Almost before he knows it, four days have passed since Hopper brought Steve home with them. He appreciates the company and the way Hopper and El have opened their home up to him. Sleep would have been much harder to come by if he'd been home alone those first couple of nights. He's feeling better now, though. His chest is sore but he can lift his arms without wanting to curl into a ball. His head is clearer than it was the day he woke up in the hospital. And he's starting to miss his bed. 

Beyond that, he feels bad for keeping Hopper out of his own bed for days.

The cabin is kind of small for three people to occupy for any extended amount of time. It's almost suffocating, being so closely looked after by people without having the chance to get away for a couple hours. With his parents out of town so much, or else too busy to spend a lot of their time _in_ town at home, he can't remember being surrounded by people for this long outside of school since he was a kid.

"Have to go?" El asks, looking up at him solemnly when he mentions going home that morning.

"Yeah, kiddo," he says. She frowns and turns her attention to her food with a focus usually reserved for her Eggo waffles even though they're having eggs and toast. "I'm wearing the last outfit I packed. I need to do some laundry and I have to think about going back to school soon or I'll never catch up." 

He doesn't know how Hopper was able to get away with calling him out of school for the week. Whether it's his position as Chief of Police or just that the school doesn't care so long as they have it on their books or whatever that he isn't showing up for a while. Whatever the reason, he's grateful that Hopper did it. Now that he doesn't have Nancy or anyone else to help him out, he isn't sure he's going to manage to catch up at _all_. But he definitely won't if he doesn't go back soon.

Hopper wipes a napkin over his mouth and nods. "You sure you're good?"

Steve nods. The first day or two he wouldn't have fared very well by himself. A few days of rest with decent enough food and better company—and the occasional pain killer—he feels close to normal. His face hurts, but his shoulders and stomach are better.

"Okay," Hopper says, ignoring the glare El shoots him. Steve is pretty sure if she were to turn that look on _him_ , he would do whatever she wanted him to. Of course Hopper has been taking care of her for a year. Maybe he's used to being on the receiving end of that look. Steve tends to glare at his own dad when he's sure the man won't notice. "Make sure you've got everything together and I'll drop you at the Byers'. Your car's still there."

"Sounds good," Steve says, finishing off the corner of his toast. He gets up to rinse his plate, ruffling El's hair as he passes her. She ducks away but he sees her smile while she runs her hand back through it.

It doesn't take him long to pack up his things. He only brought some clothes, his toothbrush, and some of his homework with the hope that he might be able to focus. Surprisingly, except for that first day, he mostly has. 

There's more to do, but he has more finished than he normally gets done without Nancy's help. With their TV busted, it gave him something to do in between sleeping and eating. El joined him on the couch a few times, interested in what he was doing despite pretty much all of it going over her head. He did his best to explain what he was doing and why and it was nice, being on the other side; teaching her something. 

He's not sure how good of a job he did, especially since as far as Steve knows, she hasn't had _any_ sort of education before now. But talking it out with her helped him understand it a little better himself.

He hopes Hopper figures out a way for her to learn what she needs to before she's allowed to rejoin the world. She's behind but she's smart and Steve thinks she'll be able to catch up with help from someone who actually knows what they're doing.

"All set?" Hopper asks when Steve, his bag on his shoulder, is giving the room one last pass.

"Yeah." 

El stands in front of the door. Steve watches, concerned, as she clenches her fists at her sides for a moment before throwing herself at him. He doesn't flinch, he _doesn't_ , and the look he sends Hopper when the man chuckles at him is as severe as he can make it. Hopper doesn't react except to widen his smile. Since he's used to El-level glares, Steve should have known better than to expect his would have any sort of impact.

Wrapping his arms around her, Steve pats her back. He doesn't know what to say to her to make her feel better, but he'll stand here as long as she needs until she's ready to let go.

She sniffs when she pulls back but she smiles at him before shooting Hopper a pointed look that Steve has no hope of interpreting. Hopper seems to know what she means, nodding back at her.

"Bye," she says in a quiet, steady voice. Steve smiles and knocks the side of his fist gently against her shoulder.

"Bye," he says back, surprised at how much he's going to miss her.

She lets him pass her, waving from behind the door before she closes it. They stand outside long enough to hear all of the locks click into place.

"C'mon," Hopper says, jerking his head over his shoulder. "Let's get going."

* * *

"Hey."

Steve gets out of the truck and holds onto the door, leaning in. "Yeah?"

Hopper rests his arm across the back of the seats.

"I still don't know when it's going to be safe for El to go out in public," he starts and Steve nods. Hopefully sooner than later, Steve thinks. Staying in one place, unable to go out and do anything or see anyone sounds like hell to him. Time to himself can be good, but he still gets to go to school and can stop in at the diner or go see a movie if he's feeling restless.

"I like to think I can learn from my mistakes," he continues with a wry smile. "She shouldn't be stuck in the cabin alone all the time and she—we were wondering if you wouldn't mind coming over some days after school. Maybe over the weekend when you have one free."

Steve raises his eyebrows. They want him to come back? Not to keep an eye on him and his injuries. Just to keep El company?

Hopper shrugs. "She likes you."

"Huh." Steve shakes his head like it might shake some thoughts loose. "Yeah? I mean, yeah that would be cool, I guess."

"You don't have to," Hopper says and he sounds serious. "Now that her friends know she's okay, I'm sure they'll be sneaking their way over eventually. She'll be fine if—"

"No, no, I want to," Steve assures him. The thought of Hopper going home to El and telling her Steve won't spend time with her makes his chest go tight. Suddenly he understands what the look she gave Hopper before they left meant. She wants Steve to come back and was making sure her dad knew she expected him to ask. Steve swallows thickly.

How many times this week has he thought about her—how she was raised and all of the things she's missed out on—and wished she'd had better? He's sure he's not what she needs but apparently hanging out with him is what she _wants_ and doesn't she deserve to get something she wants? It's not like Steve has anything else going on. He's pretty sure he doesn't even have _friends_ now that Nancy is with Jonathan. The only obligation he has left besides school is basketball and he doesn't know how much longer that's going to last if Hargrove keeps getting in his face.

"Just, uh. Let me know when?"

Hopper smiles and pats the passenger seat's headrest. "I can't get out of work much longer, so any day after school next week? You don't have to stay until I'm home. I'm not asking you to babysit."

"Yeah, she seems like she can handle herself okay."

"She can," Hopper somehow manages to look both fond _and_ exasperated. "She's just lonely and I don't blame her."

Steve nods. It's not the same, not at all, but he understands being lonely. He readjusts his bag on his shoulder and takes a step back.

"I'll be there," he says, waiting for Hopper's answering nod before he closes the door and heads for his car.

Maybe they can help each other out, he thinks. She's a kid but she's probably the coolest kid he's ever met. It'll be nice to have someone to spend time with after school and somewhere to go that isn't his house. Despite the way he'd felt closed in at the cabin this morning, he's already looking forward to next week when he can go back.

* * *

The first couple visits are awkward.

El might not think so—does she have enough experience with the world to recognize awkwardness when she feels it?—but it's weird for Steve, sitting around in Hopper's cabin doing nothing besides sharing space with her. His homework keeps him occupied some of the time. He's trying to do a little better for his last year of school. There's still only so many hours he can spend reading chapters and writing papers and solving math problems before he can't stand looking at any of it a minute longer.

He tries showing El some of what he's working on as he does it. She smiles at him every time he offers. It warms him to be able to give her this one small thing, but she's missed so much that he knows she can only follow along so much. Especially with him as a teacher. 

One day when he finally works up the nerve, he'll check out the library for some worksheets. Maybe he can ask that teacher Dustin is always talking about; the one with the paddles? Steve doesn't really get it but the rest of the kids seem to love him. It couldn't hurt to ask. Probably. He just doesn't know how to do it without making anyone curious about _why_ he's asking. Hawkins isn't the smallest town but people _know_ the Harringtons. It's not like he can pretend he's got a sibling or something and no one would believe anyone hired him as a tutor.

Something to worry about another day. Today he brings some supplies to make the evening a bit more fun.

"What's that?" El asks when she lets him in, looking intently at the bag in Steve's arm. He grins.

"Thought we could do something different today," he says, giving the bag a shake and heading into the kitchen area. There isn't a lot of space but he doesn't need much for this.

She stands next to him, close enough that they're touching. Still smiling, he looks down at her with raised eyebrows. She raises her own back and when she doesn't move, he ruffles her hair.

"No," she says, ducking away.

Laughing, Steve holds his hands up.

"Last time I was here, I snooped around a bit," he says as he starts to take items out of the bag. El watches with interest and he can see her mouthing the words on the bags as she reads them. "And noticed you didn't have everything we needed to make waffles."

She looks up at him with wide eyes. "Eggos?"

He tilts his head back and forth, grateful he can do it without pain anymore. The bruises on his face are a more sickly green and yellow than the angry red they were before but they don't hurt nearly as much.

"Eggos _are_ waffles," he says as he finishes emptying the bag. "But have you ever had waffles from scratch?"

"From scratch?"

Her eyebrows crinkle. She's pretty cute when she's confused but it doesn't stop the rush of _angrysad_ he feels at all the things that confuse her.

"From scratch means, not from a box? Like making the waffles with flour and sugar and stuff instead of a box mix or buying them frozen."

El shakes her head and he smiles again. "Would you like to help me make some?"

Eyes wide again, she stands up on her toes. "I can help?"

"Sure," he says with a shrug. "I thought you might like to find out what the real thing tastes like."

She gives him a _look_ and he laughs. "Not that Eggos are bad. But I like homemade ones better. And it'll be fun to do something besides homework for a change."

He nudges her shoulder and she drops back down to stand on flat feet.

"Whatcha think? Wanna give it a shot?"

She nods and pulls the bag of flour close. Steve laughs again and grabs the measuring cups he brought along. Hopper has bowls and even a waffle iron, but Steve's gotten the impression that the man isn't big on cooking himself, so he's not surprised El hasn't had real waffles before. At least they're getting the chance to fix that today. 

And to give her something new to learn. Cooking is something Steve can do. He might not be the best but he knows enough to get by and that's already better than all of his attempts at going over his homework with her.

"First thing we're going to do is measure out the dry ingredients," he starts, opening the bag of flour and showing El which size cup to use. She isn't very steady and he already knows they're going to have a mess to clean up by the time they're done, but he doesn't mind. Cooking should be messy when you're learning. At least it was when he first started teaching himself. So long as they don't leave the place a wreck for Hopper, they'll be okay.

* * *

He's right about the mess. Flour coats his hair and there's a streak of it on El's nose and he's not entirely sure how they managed either of those. The smile on her face when she takes out her very first homemade waffle is worth the second shower he's going to need later. If the price of seeing her so happy about something is a little flour in his hair and egg on his shirt, he's willing to pay it. 

"Looks great!" he says, squeezing her shoulder. She grins so wide her teeth are showing. This might be the first time he's seen that. Even when she was so excited to learn she could help, her smile had been smaller, quieter and it's ridiculous how pleased he is to be the cause of them. This is better; this is her being so excited over making something herself that she can't hold it in.

"Just a few more minutes and we'll be ready to eat."

She nods, setting the plate down next to the waffle iron so she can add more batter into it. This, too, is messy. Steve doesn't care. He watches her slowly spoon the batter in, mostly to make sure she doesn't accidentally burn herself on the iron, but he can already tell she's getting better at it. With each new waffle, a little less dribbles out the sides and he can't help the burst of pride he gets even though he isn't doing any of the work.

"Ready to try it?" he asks when the last of the waffles joins the pile. The smell is probably going to linger around the cabin for a while. There are worse things than walking in to the smell of vanilla and sugar after work. They made enough for Hopper to have some when he gets home.

El nods, pulling her plate close and watching steam waft up from the two she claimed for herself. Steve purposefully left the whipped cream in the fridge but if El notices, she doesn't seem to mind. She picks up the syrup and carefully pours some on top. He does the same when she's done but doesn't take a bite right away. He's anxious to find out whether she likes them or not. She doesn't seem to mind him watching as she takes her first bite.

Her eyes close and she hums, a little, "Mmm," sound and Steve relaxes in his chair. When she opens her eyes, she looks at him and grins that toothy grin again. "This is good!"

Steve takes a bite of his own.

"They are," he agreed. He hadn't doubted it when he's made them for himself so many times but he's glad she likes them. "You did great!"

She looks down at her plate, smile easing into something softer. She spins her fork slowly over her plate. Steve lets her have a minute. He can't say for sure but he thinks she might be a little shy over the compliment.

Hopper is a good guy and a decent dad as far as he can tell, so Steve hopes he tells El when she's done well. But even if he does, it must still feel new to be told she's done good at something that doesn't have anything to do with her powers. He still only knows bits and pieces of how she was brought up, but he can't imagine anyone at the lab giving her a pat on the back or praising her for anything remotely normal.

Soon enough she digs back in, kicking his foot with hers. Steve doesn't know how thrilled Hopper is going to be about waffles for dinner given how Eggos seem like such a staple here, but Steve is sure any leftovers won't last long with the way El is inhaling them.

He wonders what he can have them try next time. Something easy still, to get her used to it. Whatever it ends up being, he's looking forward to another successful visit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit later than I planned to post, sorry. The day got away from me! Happy reading <3

Things don't exactly go back to _normal_ , but they do calm down. Without Nancy, the time between class is somehow more boring than the classes themselves. And he can't say he ever expected for one of his best friends to end up being an enthusiastic, sometimes overly so, thirteen-year-old. 

At least his face doesn't hurt anymore.

Even without any friends his own age, though, he doesn't feel nearly as lonely as he'd expected to that moment he saw Nancy and Jonathan together and _knew_. 

School is slow and boring but his time outside of it is constantly full. Some days he waits for Dustin to get out of his club; something to do with radios? He really tries to listen when Dustin explains it to him but the kid gets so into it that he always starts using technical jargon that goes right over Steve's head. He doesn't mind, content to see Dustin so excited about the things he loves even if Steve doesn't get it.

Steve has been over to Dustin's house for dinner with his mom more than once. It was obvious from his first visit just where the kid gets his personality. Especially when he saw the two of them interacting with each other. They're a little much for him sometimes, but they always make him feel welcome.

Besides that, he has somehow become the kids' ride to the arcade—the many, _many_ times they go—and even occasionally the movie theater in town. Despite his complaining, Steve likes being the one to take them so he knows they've gotten wherever they're going safely. It's not much, and he would never tell them so, but it's enough.

The rest of his evenings are occupied with practice—he hasn't decided if quitting the team is what he _really_ wants to do yet—and homework and spending time with El. Hopper, too, on the nights that Steve stays until he's home and gets convinced to stick around long enough to eat with them. Not that they have to do much to convince him; eating with them is always preferable to making something at home just for himself. 

Tonight is one of those nights. El has the television playing some sort of soap opera that has become white noise to Steve while he works on his homework and makes dinner. It isn't anything special. Just some chicken and vegetables because it's what was available in the fridge. Over the past few weeks he's managed to add enough seasoning options to their kitchen that the meal is less boring than it could be.

El doesn't seem interested in helping out tonight but he doesn't mind. It's fun to teach her and Steve doesn't he could say no if she asked to join him, but it goes a bit faster when he makes it on his own. 

Steve is finishing up setting everything on the table when Hopper gives the secret knock. El lets him in and Steve sees the moment Hopper notices the smell. His head tilts up as he breathes in deep, a smile growing on his tired looking face.

"Smells good," he says as he takes off his hat and sets it on the top of the skinny coat hanger just inside the door.

Passing El on the way to his room, Hopper swipes a hand playfully over her head. She turns to him with a smile of her own before the TV draws her attention again.

"Time for dinner, kiddo," Steve tells her.

Her smile falls into a pout but this is one thing Steve never feels the urge to give in on. He raises an eyebrow, staring at her. As though rolling her eyes isn't enough to convey just how much he's asking of her, El rolls her whole head. She turns off the TV and joins him at the table just when Hopper comes back out dressed in something more comfortable than his uniform.

Maybe it's dumb, but Steve is a little proud of her showing her age. Even if it is in her attitude. He hopes it's because she's comfortable enough around him to just _be_.

"Looks great, kid," Hopper says, sitting down and sliding his plate close. Steve tries to dampen the grin he always feels pulling at his mouth when they compliment his cooking and shrugs. It's just food. Not even something hard to make. There's no reason to grin like a moron just because they like it.

"Thanks," he says once he's sure he can act like a normal person.

They don't waste any time before digging in. It's quiet for the first couple of minutes and that warms Steve right through. He knows they really like it when they take the time to just eat without conversation for a few minutes.

"So how did that test go?"

Steve freezes mid chew, eyes locked on his plate. He hurriedly finishes his bite, washing it down with some water.

"What?" he asks, finally glancing Hopper's way.

Hopper isn't even looking at him; he's focused on cutting another piece of chicken. He shrugs, popping the bite into his mouth.

"Your… what was it? That history test you were studying for. How'd it go?"

Shoving a forkful of vegetables into his mouth, Steve turns the question over in his head. Or really, tries to remember the last time someone who wasn't Nancy asked him how he'd done on a test. It isn't like his parents want to hear about how school is going. They know, have to know what his grades are like, it's not like he can hide it. He figures they've given up on expecting more from him—assuming they _ever_ expected more from him.

He'd only mentioned the test once when Hopper was curious about why he and El were sticking to one subject longer than usual.

They usually bounce back and forth between his different classes' homework. Steve doesn't really _get_ El's enthusiasm for things like his math class when he can barely explain anything and the numbers can't mean anything to her. But she's happy to listen to him go over any and all of it and he feels like he's actually understanding the material better after trying to teach her what they went over in class that day.

Through weeks of sharing his work with her, Steve found out that the history stuff is almost as good at expanding her vocabulary as English with the bonus of her learning some of what's happened in the world outside of Hawkins. It made him feel a little less guilty about having to stick on the one topic longer than usual because he needed to take that time to study. 

He thinks about the returned paper sitting in his bag, the blue letter circled on the top. Clearing his throat quietly, he gives a jerky shrug.

"C plus," he says, keeping his eyes focused on his plate. He knows how that sounds. Nancy would give him a forced bright smile and tell him it was fine all while not understanding how he could spend so much time studying and not do _better_. 

It had still been a pleasant shock when his teacher handed it back. Seeing a plus instead of a minus—or worse, something _lower_ than a C—is something he's still not sure wasn't a mistake.

"Not bad, kid," Hopper says and when Steve's eyes jump to him in surprise, he looks sincere. His smile makes the corners of his eyes crinkle and they seem to shine in the kitchen light. Steve musters up a hesitant smile on his own in return. Hopper stares at him, not losing the warmth in his face but obviously thinking about something.

"Grades aren't everything," he finally says and Steve can't tear his eyes away. "But a C-plus is almost a B and that's already better than I managed in most of my classes. You passed. I'd say that's a good thing."

Steve swallows, tapping his fork against his plate. That actually makes him feel better. Like it's okay that he's proud of his score even though it's lower than everyone always wants it to be. He doesn't know if he's ever gotten so close to a B in History before. It feels attainable now, though. Within his grasp for the first time if he keeps at it. He doesn't know what's different now—rather, he isn't sure _why_ it's made a difference for him. Somehow he's doing better without Nancy's help and Steve doesn't know what to make of that.

Whatever the reason, it's not something he needs to worry about right this moment and he loosens his shoulders.

"Yeah," he says, nodding. "Thanks."

"Good job," comes from El, who has been quietly watching them the whole time. Steve grins and reaches over to bump her shoulder.

"Thanks, kiddo."

* * *

Steve finishes his stretches along with the rest of the team. It's nearly game time and he already feels the start of that adrenaline rush he gets when he's about to play. Until he stepped out onto the court, he wasn't sure if quitting the team would have been the smarter option. Hargrove has been keeping his assholeishness to angry looks and words but physically he's backed off, barely even getting into Steve's space. He can't imagine Max taking him down that night would be enough to make Billy back off. At least not from trying to make Steve miserable; it's not like it was ever about _him_ beyond not wanting to see her stepbrother kill someone. But Steve can't think of any other reason as to why Billy has been mostly leaving him alone when it's obviously taking effort to stay out of Steve's face.

Either way, it's made staying on the team an option. One that he's glad he took now that the game is about to start. Steve hasn't felt excitement, the good non-monster related kind, like this coursing through him for a while. He's _good_ at this. Unlike so many other things, basketball is something he can do well. 

He's so focused on that, the thrum in his veins and getting ready to start, that he doesn't notice who is in the stands until he hears Dustin's voice cut clear through everyone else's.

"Go Steve!"

Dustin's standing there pumping his arms up and down, all wide smiles and enthusiasm even though Steve knows he doesn't actually care much about sports in general. Steve chuckles. Waving, he almost trips over his feet when he sees Hopper sitting right next to him. It's hard to tell for sure, but he thinks Hopper is side eying Dustin hard. But Steve is more focused on the fact that Hopper is _here_ , at a Hawkins High basketball game, at all. 

As far as he knows, there's never been a time when Hopper's ever been to one. He feels foolish even thinking it, but there's only one reason for Hopper to be here now. Right? Steve may not be the smartest guy around but he can't be wrong about this.

Hopper sees him looking and gives him a thumbs up, clapping along with the crowd. Steve grins, his shock melting away into something softer. He's got people here cheering him on. It's unexpected but not unwelcome and he's suddenly more ready than ever to put his all into this.

* * *

"Good game."

Steve smiles at Hopper, resisting the urge to duck his head at the compliment. This is the first time he's had someone besides his friends, or girlfriends, at a game before. This shouldn't feel like a big deal. It's not like Hopper is his dad or anything. That does nothing to curb the pride running through him at having played a winning game in front of someone who cares.

"Thanks," he says with a small shrug, kicking his foot against the gym's wood floors. It squeaks a little.

Dustin is smiling, too, and practically bouncing on his toes. 

"You did great!" he says, nudging Steve in the arm. "You're really good."

This time Steve does duck his head. He doesn't know why. He _knows_ that he's good. Basketball is one of the few things he is genuinely confident about his skills in. Somehow one affirmation from a thirteen year old is enough to make him shy about it. Dustin knocks him with his fist, not quite strong enough to be called a punch to his arm, before announcing that his mom is probably waiting for him. Steve watches the kid hurry out of the gym, shaking his head.

When he straightens up, Hopper is clearly amused. He's got that same teasing look he gets around Steve a lot. It's different than Steve is used to. Less making fun of Steve and more actual, friendly teasing. The experience still feels new but it's been happening since the day Hopper brought him home from the hospital. It might be dumb, but Steve likes that he's starting to get used to it.

Hopper looks somewhere over Steve's shoulder and his eyes narrow at whatever he sees. When Steve turns, he finds Hargrove watching them, one of his ever-present glares pointed their way. He wears that expression so often that Steve wonders if there may be some truth to the saying: _keep making that face and it will get stuck that way_.

"He been giving you any trouble?"

Steve shakes his head, turning to put Hargrove behind him again.

"That's about as bad as it gets anymore," he says, shrugging. 

Hopper nods, arms crossed over his chest. Steve raises an eyebrow at him, looking back and forth between both of them. He realizes as he does that Hargrove is glaring at _Hopper_ , not at Steve. That doesn't make any sense. Steve never actually pressed any charges; he'd thrown the first punch. It might have been in defense of a kid, but Steve had still hit the guy first, _after_ lying about having his stepsister with him when it was clear she wasn't supposed to be out.

Between that and the fact that they ended up fighting other kinds of monsters later that night, it had seemed like a losing battle to Steve. Or at least, not one he felt like bothering his parents for help over.

"What's, uh. Going on there?"

"Just making sure he remembers our talk."

Steve raises both his eyebrows this time. "You had a _talk_. With Hargrove? About what?"

Finally Hopper turns his attention back to Steve and when Steve checks, Hargrove is no longer in sight. Hopper gives Steve a pointed look, eyes tracing his face where the worst of his bruises had been. Steve swallows, dropping his gaze to the floor. Hopper ruffles his hair, the same way they both do with El, and he's smiling when Steve peeks back up at him.

"I just made him aware of exactly how difficult his life could be if he messes with one of my kids again."

Steve blinks fast, looking away again. Hands clenched at his sides, he takes a deep breath. His heart starts pounding in his chest in a way that has nothing to do with the game he just finished. Hopper cups the nape of his neck with a warm hand, seemingly uncaring about the way sweat has curled his hair there. The touch is firm but something he can easily move away from if he wants to. He melts into it instead, feeling warm and happy and cared about. 

"Now I know someone who probably watched the game even though I told her to take it easy, and is waiting to celebrate with us. Go get changed. We can pick up something to eat on the way."

Steve nods but is reluctant to move away. Hopper seems to understand, squeezing gently and not letting go while Steve pulls himself together.

"Sounds good," Steve says after a moment, backing up toward the locker rooms. He's beaming, can feel his cheeks beginning to ache with the force of it, but he can't help it. Doesn't want to. "I'll be back."

Hopper nods. "I'll be here."

* * *

Steve shakes his head as he watches Dustin walk into the fully decked out middle school gym. Hopefully Dustin listens to him and holds back on the purring. It's funny and even almost cute, but it's not going to give him the result he's going for. Especially at a middle school dance. 

Even if Dustin doesn't listen, Steve hopes he has a good time. Kid deserves it; they all do. Life has gone mostly back to normal and they all seem like they're handling everything pretty well. But they were in the thick of it for two years in a row. Steve isn't an expert in much of anything, but even he knows their experiences aren't something that will just _stop_ bothering them.

Time helps, he thinks. But they need nights like this. When they can just be _kids_ and not have to think about last month or last year.

Nancy, all curled hair and smiles, catches his eye. He watches her serve punch to a couple of kids for a moment. His chest still aches at the sight of her, but it's duller now. He's not out of love with her yet. Doesn't know when that will happen. But he thinks that part of loving someone, _really_ loving someone—even though he hates that he isn't the one who can make her feel that way—is wanting them to be happy.

She looks happy.

He rolls his eyes at himself, glad no one is around to catch him staring. It always feels like his thoughts are written across his face when he looks at her. At least now he isn't standing in the cafeteria, trying to figure out where to sit that won't involve looking at her and Jonathan, or Hargrove and his friends.

Steve pulls forward to let the other parents and siblings drop their kids off and thinks about going home. The cabin will be empty, at least for a while. El has been excited since Hopper told her she was allowed to go. While Steve was helping her decide what to do with her hair, she told him how Mike had asked her to go just before she'd stopped the monster last year. 

It still blows him away that this little girl is so powerful and _strong_. She deserves tonight the most, he thinks. A chance to spend an evening with her friends and be treated like everyone else for a night.

He debates sticking around long enough to see them when they get here. El won't let Hopper make her wait until too late; not when she won't get another night like this in who knows how long. But he doesn't want to distract her or make her feel like she has to talk to him before gets to go and have fun. She's going to have a great time and he'll get to hear all about it later tonight.

With that thought, Steve stops looking for a space and heads out of the lot. He can spend a couple hours at home before coming back for the kids.

* * *

Steve pulls up to the school late, hoping that most of the parents will have picked up their kids by then. There are still cars waiting outside for some stragglers, but he isn't stuck idling on the street leading into the parking lot. He'll take what he can get.

None of the kids he's waiting to see are out of the gym yet. With this being El's first—and most likely _only_ —night out in public with her friends for the foreseeable future, Steve isn't surprised. They probably want as much time together as possible. He thinks about how excited El has been all week and he's glad that they get to have this tonight. 

She deserves more than this. More than being stuck living in a tiny cabin out in the middle of the woods where she only gets to see her friends every once in a while. Not getting to join them in school or go to the movies or even the arcade. Hopefully this dance will be enough to keep her going for a while.

He's only been waiting a couple minutes before the first of them walks out. Lucas and Max are cute together. Steve isn't used to seeing Max with anything done to her hair. The braid is cute, too, but he will never tell her that to her face. He likes his arms to remain unharmed and that would definitely earn him a punch to at least one of them.

Will and Dustin come out next. Dustin is talking about something, waving his arms all around while Will nods along. He doesn't look as serious as Steve is used to seeing him. Seems like the dance was good for more than one of them. Steve's glad. He hates how grown up they all act sometimes. They're thirteen. They shouldn't carry so much weight on their shoulders. They know what they know and there isn't anything they can do about that, so he's happy when he gets to see them relax and have fun.

El comes out last, holding Mike's hand. She looks so good. Steve silently thanks, he doesn't even know what—the universe, maybe—that Hopper did such a good job. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who knows what he's doing when it comes to school dances.

Moments like these remind Steve that Hopper actually _has_ done some of this before. Hopper had another daughter once. It hurts to think about; even with Hopper and El's rougher moments, it's obvious that Hopper was made to be a dad. Losing his child must have been, well. Even the thought of anything happening to El or Dustin, _any_ of the kids, is enough to make Steve's stomach churn. It can't bring her back, but he's glad that Hopper has El now.

Steve gets out of his car to meet them as they reach it.

"Good night?" he asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the passenger side of the car.

He gets a round of nods and quick, "yeahs" from most of them.

"Really good," El says, smiling somehow even wider than when she'd first walked out. Steve sees the way she squeezes Mike's hand tighter. It's going to be hard for them to go their separate ways tonight, knowing that they won't get the chance to do something like this again for way too long. Thankfully, he has something planned that he hopes will help with that.

"So," he starts, clapping his hands. "What would you guys say if the night didn't have to be over just yet?"

El and Mike both look at him with wide eyes; Mike has never looked at Steve like that before. It's weird but he doesn't hate it. Good to know that Mike can't keep up the attitude when Steve can help give him something he wants—like give him a little more time with his girlfriend.

"I, or well, Hopper got permission from everyone's families to stay out a bit longer tonight. There isn't enough room in my car for everyone—no Dustin, I can't just let four of you squeeze in the back."

He nods to a car further ahead. "Will, your brother agreed to take you and whoever wants to share a ride so we can all go."

Will smiles and nods. "Where are we going?"

"Rumor has it a certain someone here hasn't had the best waffles in town—"

"Millie's Diner?" Dustin yells, because of course he does. Steve's plenty used to it by now.

"Yep. What do you think?"

El grabs Mike's arm. It takes visible effort for the both of them to keep still; it's _so_ good to see them acting their ages. "Yes please," El says, nodding hard enough her hair moves.

"Great. Figure out who's going with who and do it quick. We don't have all night."

"Yeah, yeah," Mike grumbles. 

"Really. I can take you guys out but not too late. None of us want your parents mad when they're letting you stay out later, right?"

Mike rolls his eyes, but he doesn't argue. He's annoying but he's also smart. He knows better than to make his mom regret letting him go out after the dance. If Steve ends up on any of the parents' shit lists, it's going to be a lot harder for them to keep getting rides all over town.

"We'll go with Will," Lucas says after talking quietly with Max. He looks just as excited as the rest of them. She isn't smiling as wide as he is, but Steve thinks she's probably surprised that she gets to come. He doesn't know how Hopper got her family to agree, but he's glad it happened. It would have broken his heart to send her back home to her _family_ when the rest of the kids got to have a good time.

"Alright, see you guys in a bit," he says with a wave as they head in the direction of Jonathan's car. "Hop in, kiddos."

"We're not _kids_ ," Mike mutters. Steve chuckles, shaking his head but not saying anything else. Tonight is about having fun, not riling Mike up. There will be plenty of opportunities for that in the future, he's sure. Dustin takes the front, giving Mike and El the backseat to themselves. Steve grins at Dustin and pats his shoulder, careful not to mess up the hair they worked so hard to make look good earlier.

"If you're not kids, you'll remember to buckle your seatbelts without being told, right?"

Okay, he can't help himself. But that's the last one of the night. He swears.

* * *

There are so many of them, a couple of the waitresses had to push together a bunch of tables. Somehow Steve ends up in a seat across from Jonathan. Probably the kids' doing, keeping the two people a few years older than them together. It should feel more awkward, especially remembering how he'd felt when he saw Nancy earlier, but Steve is genuinely grateful that Jonathan was willing to use what little free time he has so that his little brother and his friends could have a good time.

"Thanks for bringing them," Steve tells him.

"No problem."

Jonathan holds the menu high enough that he's only visible from his eyes up. Steve doesn't bother opening his; he's been here enough times to know what he wants without looking. He can, and does, cook for himself; has for years now. That doesn't mean it never gets old when he's the only one who's going to eat it. On top of that, most of his friends before didn't even know he could cook.

He remembers things like that and it amazes him that it took him so long to see what kind of people they were. It shouldn't be embarrassing to tell people he spent so much time with, people who knew how his family was, that he cooks.

He misses them sometimes. Especially now that he doesn't have Nancy. But then he thinks about that, about the way Tommy and Carol are, and knows he's better off. Besides, the kids don't let him stay lonely for long. Between driving them around, playing their games, and spending time at the cabin, Steve feels like he never has a free moment.

He can't complain. It's a whole lot more than he expected after Halloween.

Steve nudges El's arm, happy she chose the seat next to his. "Excited to try the best waffles in town?" he asks, waggling his eyebrows.

He hears a soft snort from across the table and knows it has to have been from Jonathan. Dustin, who is sitting across from El, would never be able to keep his reaction so quiet. Steve doesn't care; he's excited that El gets to try something new and he isn't afraid to show it. Ever since that first time they cooked together, he's been looking forward to this moment.

"We'll see," El says.

"What do you mean, _we'll see_?" Steve asks, tilting his head.

El smiles and shrugs but doesn't explain herself. Whatever. She's happy, that's what matters.

More than once, Steve and Jonathan have to tell the group to lower their voices while they wait for the food. It's a surreal experience for Steve. Somewhere along the way he's gotten used to feeling responsible for them. Given how much older he is, and how he got close to them in the first place, it shouldn't surprise him at all. But sitting across from Jonathan Byers and big brothering a bunch of kids is weird. A good weird, but still weird.

The two of them probably won't ever be _friends_ but they can do this. Be friendly with each other; not let their history get in the way of a group of kids having fun. Steve thinks he understands Jonathan a little better now. It still hurts when he thinks about how everything happened with Nancy, but like he realized earlier, it isn't as sharp. Hopefully that means he'll really be able to let it go.

The food comes and Steve tries not to stare too hard at El while she pours some syrup over hers. He's worried about her dress staying syrup-free with how drenched the waffles are by the time she's done. Every cube is overflowing. But it's a special night; he's not going to stress over it. He hates to think about it, but she will probably have outgrown the dress by the time she gets to do something like this again.

Most of the kids become too busy chewing their food to talk and the table quiets down. Dustin is the exception, of course. Steve is not surprised. He doesn't mind, either, though he could live without seeing the half-chewed food in Dustin's mouth.

"Seriously, Henderson?"

"What?"

Steve points at his mouth. "I know your mom didn't teach you to show everyone the food you're chewing."

Dustin rolls his eyes but closes his mouth and finishes chewing before he starts back up again. Steve is pretty sure Jonathan is laughing at them again. Better than looking at Steve like he's crazy, which is what he'd expected.

"What do you think?" he asks, turning away from Dustin and seeing that El has taken a couple of bites.

She smiles, syrup on her lips but thankfully not dripping down her chin. "They're good!"

He laughs; she sounds so surprised. "What'd I tell you? Best in town."

El doesn't say anything, just takes another bite. He's glad she likes them. It would have sucked to be the reason her good night ended on a sour note.

The kids scarf down their food the way only kids can. It's a mess and Steve already knows he'll be leaving a bigger tip than usual. He would like to be able to show his face here again without the staff hating him. Especially since he's sure this won't be the last time he takes some of them out to eat with him.

* * *

Between the dance and excitement and food, their volume gradually gets lower. As the evening winds down, he sees eyes starting to droop. Dustin stubbornly shakes his head when his blink goes on a beat too long. Max has her head on Lucas' shoulder. The kid looks thrilled, glancing around the diner like he's expecting someone to pinch him and prove he's dreaming. Will has his elbow on the table, cheek resting in hand. He looks beat, but content. Jonathan seems to notice, too, because some of the tension he always seems to carry is gone. El has her hand in Mike's, leaning against Steve's side, and she's gotten heavier as they wait for the check.

They're tired, but it's a good tired. Not a we-saved-the-world adrenaline crash. They got to act their age and have fun. 

After the meal is paid for—Steve's treat despite Jonathan's protest that he could pay for him and his brother—Steve and Jonathan split the kids evenly to be dropped off. That, at least, goes smoothly. He hadn't been sure he would be able to separate them as easily as he did earlier. There aren't any issues, though. Only tired waves and quiet goodbyes before they get in the cars.

Mike isn't happy about getting dropped off first. When Steve glances at the backseat, he sees how tight he's holding El's hand. His stomach clenches; he likes giving Mike a hard time about dumb shit. Not for stuff like not knowing when he'll get to see his girlfriend—one of his _best_ friends, a party member—again. The drive isn't quiet with Dustin talking Steve's ear off, but neither Mike nor El join in.

Half expecting a fight, or dragging feet, Steve is pleasantly surprised when Mike smiles at El and squeezes her hand as they pull up to the house. When he isn't being a total jerk, Mike isn't actually half bad.

"Was it okay?" Mike asks softly.

El smiles and nods, shaking their hands. "Perfect."

Mike grins and leans forward before he looks at Steve and Dustin and stills. He clears his throat, as embarrassed as Steve has ever seen him. Steve drums his fingers on the steering wheel and looks out the windshield. When Dustin doesn't do the same, he nudges the kid's arm with the back of his hand. 

"What?" Dustin asks. Eyebrows high, Steve raises one shoulder and stares at him. A few confused blinks and one not at all subtle jerk of Steve's head in their direction, Dustin gives a quiet, "Ohh, sorry."

Steve gives them a minute before he turns back around to find them each with a shy smile on their faces. The more time he's spent with El, the more he's gotten used to her big, bright ones. He isn't used to seeing Mike smile at _all_. It's cute. _They're_ cute. Was he that cute at their age? It doesn't feel possible; he definitely never looked that shy around a girl before.

"Time to go, Mike," he says quietly with a glance at the Wheeler's house. The porch light is on and there's light coming through the living room window. "Looks like your mom's waiting up."

"I had a great time," he tells El after a brief unhappy look in Steve's direction. El nods.

"Me, too," she says as though she hadn't just finished telling him it was perfect. Mike squeezes her hand one last time before he opens the door.

"I'll see you soon, okay?"

El nods again and then Mike is gone. Steve waits until he's inside the house before pulling away. El sighs but she doesn't look upset. Good. Hopefully she holds onto the fun she had tonight for a while. With Christmas coming up, too, she shouldn't have to wait too long for another fun day, even if she won't be able to see her friends that morning.

He makes the drive to Dustin's house almost automatically. He knows his way there just as well as the cabin after being invited over so often. Mrs. Henderson also left a light on inside. Steve is sure she's waiting to hear all about her son's night. She's the only person he knows that can match Dustin's enthusiasm. 

"Thanks for the ride, Steve," he says as he gets out.

"No problem. Say hi to your mom." Dustin nods and waves. Steve waves back and waits for him to get inside before turning to El. "What are you waiting for?"

"What?" she asks, her eyebrows scrunched together. Steve nods at the passenger seat and her face smooths out in understanding. "Oh."

Steve grins at her once she's buckled in beside him. Her eyes are tired but she smiles back easily. "Let's get you home."

A few minutes after they pull away from Dustin's house, El says, "They're not."

"Who's not what?" Steve asks, glancing at her. He'd thought she might have fallen asleep. She looks almost ready to with her head resting against the window and her eyes half closed. She turns to look at him without lifting her head.

"The waffles. At the diner. Not the best in town."

"Oh yeah?" he says, looking at her. It's not like she could have done anywhere else. Hopper could have picked some up to bring home once, though he feels like he would have known with how often he's in their kitchen. "Where have you had better?"

Now she does lift her head from the window. She leans in close, staring at him in that intense way of hers. Attention back on the road, it takes a minute for it to click. "What, no way. They're way better than mine."

He sees her shake her head from the corner of his eye. "Yours are better."

If there's one thing he's learned since he started spending time with her at the cabin—he's surprised to realize he can say he's learned more than one, actually, about the both of them—it's that El takes her _friends don't lie_ motto seriously. His automatic reaction is still to think that she's exaggerating, trying to make him feel better, but he knows her. It would be impossible _not_ to know her pretty well at this point. If she says his waffles are better than the diner, she's telling him the truth.

Clearing his throat, Steve resists the urge to ruffle her hair, and says, "Thanks. We'll have to make them again soon."

"Tomorrow?" she asks and when he looks she's smiling at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Sleepover?"

Steve drums his fingers against the wheel. He comes to a slow stop at the edge of the woods where they'll have to start making the trek to the cabin on foot. El is still watching him when he shifts into park and shuts off the engine.

"Please?"

One of the other things he's learned is that it is almost impossible to deny her something when she asks like that. She probably knows it, too, because she looks like she already knows what his answer is going to be.

"Yeah, alright," he says. Her face lights up, her sleepiness seemingly vanished as though she'd never been tired in the first place. "If Hopper says it's okay."

She raises her eyebrows at him and gets out of the car. Yeah, he thinks, it's unlikely that Hopper would make him go back home right now even if El wasn't asking him to stay the night. Hopper has a _thing_ about Steve being out too late if he doesn't have to be. Steve rolls his eyes every time Hopper insists he stays over. He also never puts up a fight. The cabin is small and there aren't enough bedrooms, but Steve sleeps better there than he does anywhere else.

Steve follows her out, slinging his arm around her shoulders as they head into the woods. "Why don't you tell me all about the dance?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Flo, is he in?"

Steve leans on the front desk, big grin on his face while he waits for Flo to answer. He's become a familiar face around here, and he's pretty sure they're all surprised that it's _not_ because he's causing trouble. At least, none that they can prove was him, and definitely not recently. This is the easiest place to reach Hopper when neither of them are at the cabin. When there aren't any monsters to stop or gates that need closing, Hawkins is a pretty quiet town, so Steve isn't usually interrupting much when he comes by.

Flo smiles back, not as wide or happy as his but not mean either. In his experience so far, she always looks at least a little exasperated. He doesn't blame her, given who she works with—Hopper included. At least when she smiles at him, it comes across as genuine rather than pointed.

"Yes he is, go on," she says, waving him toward Hopper's office.

Steve taps the desk and nods, throwing a quick, "Thanks," over his shoulder as he makes his way further into the building. He gets the okay to enter after he knocks but Hopper doesn't look up until the door clicks shut.

"Hey kid," he says, sitting back and rubbing his neck. "Everything okay?"

Nodding, Steve settles into one of the chairs across from his desk. With no personal touches to it, the office is pretty boring. It's kind of sad to think of Hopper spending so many hours here, doing whatever it is he does when he's not dealing with Upside Down craziness.

"Yeah, just wanted to run something by you."

It comes out as casual as he can make it, and he keeps his body loose even though the urge to hunch his shoulders down is strong.

"Go for it," Hopper says, leaning back in his seat. He doesn't look worried which is a plus. Even though it's ridiculous, Steve almost expected Hopper to shut him down before he got started. He doesn't know where the feeling came from; Hopper has been great about everything so far. Steve just keeps expecting _something_ to happen. The more time passes where it doesn't, the more Steve worries about it. 

But he's here for a reason and this isn't for him. It's for El and Dustin and even Mike. He can deal with a little discomfort for them.

"El's been kind of bummed now that the holidays are over."

Hopper nods, scratching his beard. Neither of them has enjoyed seeing her so down. What's worse is that she isn't being loud about it. Steve had expected her to get mad, to try and push for more, but she doesn't. He's caught her staring at her dress from the night of the dance, the one that she's left hanging up in her room, and the now decoration-less cabin and sighing. It kills him to watch.

"My parents are out of town," he continues, tapping his fingers against his armrests. "I was thinking El could come over for a day or two. Get a change of scenery. There's more room so the rest of the kids could come hang out with her. Play their game or something."

He forces himself to stop. There's a list in his pocket of all the reasons he can be trusted with this, with El, for a couple nights so she can get out of the cabin again. Hopefully there are enough decent points on it to convince Hopper to let his daughter out of sight.

"Good idea."

"Wait, really?" he blurts out. Hopper snorts, not bothering to hide the way Steve's shock amuses him.

"Yes, really. It'll be good for her to spend a weekend somewhere else," he says, leaning forward and resting his arms on his desk. "I know she'll be safe with you."

Steve tries to swallow but his throat is too dry. He shoves his hands in his pockets, clutching the list he'd made for apparently no reason.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Hopper says, grinning but his voice is softer. "So just let me know when. But maybe don't bring it up until you know it's all set?"

"Sure," Steve says with a nod. "Even if they're too busy or something, she can still come over, though. If she wants to, I mean."

"I'm sure she will."

Steve smiles now; not the charming grin he'd given Flo earlier or even the automatic one he'd worn when he first walked into Hopper's office. He's just happy.

"Now get out of here, you've got a weekend to plan."

Rolling his eyes, Steve stands up. One lazy salute later, he heads out of the station, already thinking about what would be the best thing to buy for a couple days' meals.

* * *

Steve looks around his living room and grins. His TV is all set up with the VCR. He doesn't know if the kids will decide to stick with a movie or play their game, but he's prepared for whichever one they choose.

The plainly visible excitement on El's face is something that he's going to hold in his memory for a long time.

"They'll be here any minute."

She nods, tapping the watch around her wrist. It was his present to her for Christmas. A watch hadn't felt like enough at the time, but she barely takes it off. He knows she's still shaky at reading time and wanted to give her something to help out.

"I know," she says. "Almost four o'clock."

He heads out of the room with a wink to grab the last of the bowls of chips. There's popcorn ready to be popped in the kitchen, too, but they're a bunch of thirteen year olds. The likelihood of having any leftover junk food by the end of the night is low.

The doorbell rings just as he sets the bowl with the rest of the snacks on the coffee table.

"Kitchen," he says but El is already up and moving into the other room.

Steve rolls his eyes when the doorbell chimes again, then again, like someone is leaning on it. Schooling his expression into one of not-completely-feigned annoyance, he opens the door.

"Just for that," he says, crossing his arms. "I should send your surprise home."

They look at each other, then up at him, in confusion. He raises an eyebrow, keeping his face serious. There's no way he could actually send El home even if she wasn't as excited as she is. But when he mentioned the possibility of Dustin and his friends using his house for a movie night or whatever they decide to do, Steve left out of the part about El joining them.

"What surprise?"

Dustin speaks first, of course he does, but Lucas tries to lean over all of them to peek past Steve into the house. Apparently annoyed at being pushed, Dustin pushes Lucas back and out of his space. Mike rolls his eyes behind them, clearly above being excited for anything Steve thinks will be good, and Will laughs at his friends.

Steve hasn't interacted with Will much; only when the group uses him for rides around town. It's good to see him laughing. Will has been through things that would definitely have killed Steve, so he doesn't blame him. The only person Steve knows who is as strong as him is El. Honestly, he tries not to think about any of it too hard because it always leads to anger stirring in his chest that he can't do anything about.

It's not as if Will is always serious. The rest of them, Mike especially, are good at getting him out of his head. Steve is still happy to see him so amused by the show Dustin and Lucas are putting on. Even Max isn't trying very hard to hide the way her lips turn up at the ends.

"Break it up," he finally says. If he lets them keep it up much longer, he's worried they'll manage to break something. Like a leg.

Steve steps back, swinging the door wide open so they can file in.

" _Finally_ ," Dustin pants, practically falling into the house. Steve yells after them not to break anything when Lucas runs in next.

Mike ambles after them, heading immediately to the table of snacks. Will pauses long enough to thank him for inviting them over before following Mike. Max brings up the rear, pausing when Steve closes the door behind her.

"What's up, Red?"

Max shrugs. She doesn't look uncomfortable exactly, but she is tenser than the others were as she looks around his house. He wonders what she thinks of it. The whole place feels cold to him but he isn't sure how it comes across to other people. His experience with having others over has mostly been parties—which never failed to liven the usually quiet house up—or girls. Nancy mostly. She didn't comment on the house itself, more interested in where his parents were or trying to get him to start on his homework.

"Your house is huge," Max says and Steve laughs a little.

"It is that," he says. That's what made it great for parties. Between the rooms and his backyard and the pool, there is plenty of space. "Figured it would make playing their game better than Wheeler's basement."

"El?"

Mike's surprised shout has Steve smiling. Max, though, stiffens up beside him and Steve watches her closely in concern. She doesn't look scared—he's seen her scared, much as he wishes he hadn't. But the way she holds her shoulders back, tense enough that Steve is almost surprised she's not shaking with it, is telling enough.

The rest of the kids gather around their friend and Steve can see that she's smiling wider than she has since the holidays ended. Max doesn't move to join them. When he looks, she's staring at them, shuffling in place. He's just about to ask her if she wants to help him grab some drinks, maybe see if she wants to talk about whatever is bothering her, when Lucas notices she hasn't joined them. He waves her over with a grin. She smiles back, smaller than his but it looks real enough to Steve. One deep breath later, Max takes a step further into the house.

He doesn't know what that was all about but she looks happier now, at least. The whole point of today is for them to have fun.

"Alright," Steve claps his hands together, "who's ready to get this party started?"

Most of them give the expected eye roll, but El smiles. He grins and makes his way in to join them.

* * *

Hours, _hours_ , later—how do they manage it? Even watching a game on TV can't keep him occupied this long—they've finished their campaign. If he'd realized they weren't going to take any breaks, he would have told them to come over earlier. It's hard to mind when they're so into it, Mike flinging himself around as he narrates what the rest of them are dealing with. Even with them having to pause to explain things to El and Max, who are as new to it as Steve, none of them lose any enthusiasm.

Despite Dustin's pestering, Steve is glad he sat this one out. The girls slowly but surely get more comfortable in what they're doing and Steve is still having trouble following along by the end. He appreciates Will's assurance that this was a short campaign for them, even though it's hard to wrap his head around six hours somehow being short.

Just like he thought, most of the junk food he'd set out is gone; the bowls are down to crumbs of chips and unpopped kernels. None of them seemed all that concerned with anything more substantial than that while they were playing. Now that they've started packing everything away, he can practically hear their stomachs growling.

He pushes himself up, ruffling El's hair on the way to the kitchen. She wrinkles her nose but doesn't duck away even with all her friends here. He wonders when—or if—she'll start picking up on stuff like that; being embarrassed about things around her friends. She hasn't been around people all that often yet. Even though she's been able to spend some time with her friends over the past few months, she doesn't see them with their families to pick up on the way they act when they feel like they're being treated like kids.

Steve kind of hopes she never feels that urge to pull away but at the same time, he wants her to get to experience as much of being a normal teenager as she can. Though he _has_ heard the story of her and Hopper's big blow up and how she ran away after. Besides her powers, and the superpowered sister she found while she was gone, that was almost normal teenage behavior, right?

He's heard it from both sides and he can't say he blames her for the urge to get away after being hidden for so long. Even if now that he knows her, cares about her, the thought of her going so far by herself—powers or no powers—makes him uncomfortable.

"Who's hungry?" he calls as he pulls the pizzas from where he's been keeping them warm in the oven. He'd taken a break from watching them play in order to put the meal together. The kids had been so into it, he doesn't think they noticed even when the timer went off.

He's just pulling the second one out when the kids come thundering in behind him, talking over each other so much he can't pick out any individual words. They stop short when they see what he's holding, or he suspects at the lack of pizza boxes around to explain where he got them.

"Did you cook?" Mike asks, looking at it like he thinks it might attack him. Steve doesn't take offense. If saving him from a man-eating vine in those tunnels wasn't enough to soften Mike towards Steve, he figures all the junk food and lack of parental supervision in the world won't do it either.

"Pizza?" El says hopefully, eyes lighting up as she looks them over. Steve grins.

"Yep."

El grabs Mike's arm and drags him to the table. Most of the kids follow, though Dustin stays behind. 

"Why didn't you tell me you could cook?" he asks, looking so betrayed Steve kind of wants to apologize.

"I'm telling you now, doofus," he says instead.

Dustin rolls his eyes and points at him. "You owe me lunch."

"I don't owe you shit, shithead." But Steve already knows he's going to try and figure out a day that will work for the both of them. He's such a pushover for these kids, two of them especially so, and unfortunately they know it.

Dustin proves his point by grinning up at him with a quick, "Thanks," before he joins the rest of them at the table.

"Steve makes the best pizza," El tells them when they've each filled their plates. 

He almost wants to argue with her, but it's hard to when he knows the only other stuff she's tried is what Hopper has brought home from the only pizza place in town. Steve's pizza _is_ better than that. Hopefully she'll get the chance to try something different in the future. So instead of saying anything, he winks at her and puffs up his chest.

"What can I say? I'm the best."

Mike snorts, but he's the only one. Steve will take the win.

"Thanks," Will says before he digs in, the others echoing him before doing the same.

"Any time," Steve tells them, grinning at the sounds of delight coming from around the table.

* * *

"Hey kid."

Steve drags his eyes gratefully away from the book he's been attempting to focus on for the last half hour. Attempting being the key word. He's read the same paragraph at least four times now, and still doesn't know what it says.

"Hey," he says, tossing the book beside him on the couch. Give his brain a minute to rest. "What's up?"

"Thought I would run something by you."

Hopper takes a seat in his armchair and leans forward, elbows on his knees. His face is open, not pinched as if he were upset about something, so Steve isn't worried.

"Shoot," he says, leaning forward, too.

"Now, I'm not trying to pressure you. There's no rush to give me an answer, or to give me one at all."

"Oookay." Steve still isn't _worried_ , but. Well, maybe he's starting to get a little worried. What if Hopper is—he doesn't know what.

"Have you given any thought to what you want to do after you graduate?"

Reading the same sentence over and over actually sounds like a much better way to spend his time that he gave it credit for a minute ago. Hell, he should have stayed home to study instead. Anything to get out of wherever this conversation is going.

Swallowing, Steve shrugs.

Hopper nods and he doesn't seem surprised. Steve's stomach drops. He knows his parents have all but given up on his ability to get into any schools on his own merits. At this point he's not sure why he keeps trying to do well on his tests or get his homework turned in on time. Senior year is way too late to start putting in the effort.

It sucks that Hopper doesn't think he's cut out for it either. He'd kind of thought, what? That Hopper thought Steve was doing okay? He only ever has good things to say about the grades Steve has been scraping by with recently.

"Like I said, no pressure. If you'd rather go to school or, hell get a job at that new mall they're opening up. That's fine. But it's crossed my mind that," he pauses and gentles his voice like Steve is an animal he doesn't want to spook, "maybe you should think about law enforcement."

Steve blinks at Hopper, picking at his jeans. "Like, what? Be a cop?"

"Yeah." Hopper nods. He looks as serious as Steve has ever seen him.

"I don't, I mean," Steve doesn't know what to say. Him, a cop? "I've never thought about it before."

That isn't quite true. In those moments when he thinks about his dismal chances of getting into a school, while not even sure he _wants_ to go to college—high school has been hell to get through and he knows, he _knows_ college is going to be too much even with his parents' money to pave the way. In those moments, he's considered what it would be like to do what Hopper does. 

He can't, though. Go into law enforcement. He might be able to handle the day to day, and it's not _exactly_ the government but it still feels too close.

It's not that Steve thinks they're all bad. Hopper is good at it, suited to looking after the town. Keeping everyone safe when they have no idea what they're in danger from. But they're not all like Hopper. The guys at the station seem okay—well, jury's out on that Callahan guy.

Steve is not like Hopper.

Hopper smiles at him, the same one he wears for El when she needs encouraging. "You'd be good at it."

"Really?" Steve doubts that. He can pick up a bat and swing it at a monster or throw a lighter into a tunnel that leads to another world, sure. Put him up against a guy who shoves kids into walls and he barely stands a chance. He couldn't beat Byers or Tommy, either. Steve likes to think he's an okay babysitter but in the real world he's not much of a protector.

"Really," Hopper says, nodding. "You've got good instincts"—Steve scoffs but Hopper continues like he doesn't notice—"and you think fast in dangerous situations. You've got a good head on your shoulders. You _do_."

Hopper leans forward, reaching out to rest a heavy hand on Steve's shoulder. "You're a good kid, a good man. I trust you with my daughter. I would absolutely trust you to have my back if I needed it."

Suddenly the hand on his shoulder feels even heavier and it has nothing to do with Hopper. It's pressure, a band squeezing around his chest and pressing down all around him in a way that thinking about his future has never done before. Hopper said he didn't have to give him an answer, that's the same as giving the _wrong_ one, isn't it?

It sounds like this is something Hopper has been thinking about for a while, something that seems important to him. He's done a lot for Steve since that day Steve woke up to him sleeping across from him in his hospital room. The only reason he doesn't have to look over his shoulder around Hargrove is the _talk_ that Hopper had with him. He lets Steve crash on his couch and take up space doing work that with only three months left of school doesn't even _matter_. Is it really too much to ask that Steve do this for him? It's not like he would be starting tomorrow. He _might_ hear back from a college or two willing to take him by the time he graduates.

Fuck.

"Yeah," he hears himself say. It sounds steadier than he feels. "That would be. If you really think it's something I can do."

Hopper smiles, patting his shoulder and sitting back in his chair. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think you'd be good."

Steve forces himself to relax. After some slow, deep breaths he smiles. It fits strangely on his face after getting so used to the real thing. It's amazing what having other people around him who care about him—people who show it without throwing their money or reputation around like his parents—has made it unnecessary. It will become real, he'll _make_ it real. Hopper believes in him.

He can do this.

* * *

Steve can't believe he's doing this. This might actually be the worst day of his—no. He's had some terrible days. Riding along with Hopper for a day-in-the-life of a Hawkins deputy isn't close to the worst thing he's gone through. It might even be cool if it weren't for the way his stomach tries to eat itself when he thinks about. Everything. All the ways it can go wrong—and in Hawkins, there are plenty of non-human things that can, and have, been added to the list. There haven't been any monsters since November but Steve doesn't expect that to last.

Just let it not happen today.

"Ready to head in?"

"Yeah," he says. It takes effort not to tap his fingers against his thigh or pick at his jeans, but he doesn't think it comes through in his voice.

Hopper claps him on the shoulder and the way his lips are stretched so wide they must hurt and his eyes crinkle at the corners bolsters Steve's resolve. No matter how it turns out, he's doing this for a reason. A _good_ reason. Steve doesn't think he's made anyone look that proud before, and if it means he has to shove away some nausea or curl his hands into fists to keep from fidgeting, he can handle it. 

The building is the same as it's been every time Steve has visited this year. Following Hopper inside should be a breeze; the easiest part of the whole day. His foot is like lead when he takes that step but he pushes through. No one seems to notice his hesitation. Flo smiles at him when she looks past Hopper's shoulder.

"Good to see someone taking an interest in his future," she says, eyes shining brightly from behind her glasses. Steve shoves his hands in his pockets and puts on a wide smile.

"Hey, Flo," he says, nodding his head at Hopper. "Gotta make sure the boss meets my lofty standards."

Hopper rolls his eyes when Flo laughs, but he doesn't stop smiling. Powell snorts while Callahan squints at him like Steve spoke in code. Steve knows the guy is okay at his job but doesn't understand _how_ yet. Maybe Steve, who still hasn't gotten any acceptance letters, will have his whole future to find out.

Clearing his throat, Steve raises his eyebrows. "So, what's first?"

* * *

First is a tour of the building, as though Steve hasn't been here nearly once a week for the past five months. The break room is nothing special with a fridge, a couple tables and chairs, and a coffee post on the small counter space.

"It doesn't look like much, but it's better than eating at your desk and getting drawn into work while you're trying to eat."

"A lot of experience with that?"

Hopper gives a long look across the way. Steve doesn't know which of them he's staring at, but he suspects they've all drawn Hopper back into work at some point. "You have no idea."

As they approach the evidence locker, Steve pushes his hands further into his pockets. They're starting to cramp from how tightly he's holding them but he can't seem to make them uncurl. If he goes inside, it will all feel too _real_. Like, if he goes in and sees where they keep everything, he won't be allowed to leave. 

He's being an idiot.

Thankfully, Hopper doesn't let him inside—he may be Chief, and there may not be much in there to mess up, but he doesn't want to take any chances at letting someone in who doesn't officially work in the building. Steve, who doesn't trust himself not to ruin something by accident, is more than okay with that decision. 

Hopper still takes the time to explain the way they handle bringing new items in and it takes a lot to keep from backing out of the entryway before he's finished. At least the interest on his face seems convincing enough that Hopper isn't annoyed while they head through the front of the building.

"Don't go scaring him away, now," Flo says with a pointed look in Hopper's direction as they pass her desk. He laughs and tips his hat. 

"Don't mind her," Hopper says, holding the door open for Steve. "You're more likely to be _bored_ to death than anything else around here."

He doesn't feel very humorous, but Steve laughs. Hawkins might be quiet most of the time, but he's learned that when it gets loud, it's deafening. Sometimes he thinks his ears are still ringing, and it's been months since the Gate was closed.

Or maybe that's leftover damage from the plate and Hargrove's fists.

Their ride through town _is_ quiet. Steve doesn't know why he's surprised. He knows nothing is going to happen—if any sort of pattern holds, they shouldn't have anything new to worry about until at least October. Maybe Hawkins or the universe or whatever wants to wait until Steve is an actual fixture of the department before the world turns upside down again.

God, he hopes not.

"This is what your average day looks like around here," Hopper tells him as they head toward the edge of town. The woods line the road to their right; Steve tries not to think about it. Or look too closely into the trees. There's nothing out there anymore. Just squirrels and deer and a cabin with a teenager who is probably going a little stir-crazy right now. 

"Now don't go giving this valuable information away," Hopper drawls, glancing Steve's way before he pulls over. Steve raises an eyebrow. 

"I wasn't aware you _had_ valuable information."

Hopper snorts. Warmth shoots down Steve's arm when Hopper shakes him by the shoulder and the knot in his stomach begins to unravel. "I am a fount of knowledge, Harrington. It's not my fault no one wants to listen to it."

"Sure, Hop," Steve says with a laugh. Hopper pats his shoulder and lets him go. The touch lingers, leaving Steve more relaxed than he's been all day. "What is this drop of knowledge I'm supposed to be keeping to myself?"

"Smartass," Hopper says, but he sounds fond. He gestures to the road. "This is one of the best spots to catch people speeding."

"What, really? Here?" Steve looks around, taking in all of the nothing along the road. Just a bunch of trees that he is still trying not to pay attention to. "Huh, I guess that makes sense, actually. Just a straight stretch of road, right?"

Hopper nods, grinning. "Told you, you have a head for this."

The knot starts tightening up again even as he puffs up at the compliment.

Steve wishes he could choose how to feel about this. It should be _enough_ that Hopper thinks he can do it. No one has ever thought he could be good at something. His dad has mentioned Steve working at his company, but that's. It's _expected_. Steve is sure he'll be stuck getting people coffee and files and basically running errands for the real employees. And all of that is assuming it's even an _option_ anymore.

Being a cop isn't his dream job or anything, but does that really matter? Some people might be able to do what they love for a living; he's sure Nancy has everything planned out despite having another year of high school to get through. Jonathan might manage it, too, though Steve doesn't know if the Byers can afford it—he's not _friends_ with Jonathan, but he doesn't hate him either, and it feels unfair that the guy might not be able to pursue something he wants because of money when Steve has all the money in the world and not a single thing _to_ pursue.

Steve, though, is just one of many—a majority, even—people who won't enjoy his career. He's almost seen the end of the world, or something close. This is nothing like it. Having to clock in everyday for a job that makes him uncomfortable is, well. He's managed at school for twelve years. At least he'll be getting paid. 

"A lot of kids," Hopper side eyes him and Steve holds his hands up, putting on as innocent a face as he can, "like to treat this as a great place to race. We break it up and they cool it for a while. But there's only so much to do to keep people busy around here, I guess."

"Maybe when the mall opens up…"

"Yeah, maybe." Hopper sounds about as convinced as Steve feels. Even with a mall, Hawkins will still be _Hawkins_. Without monsters running wild—even when they _are_ —there isn't a lot to keep teenagers entertained.

He misses that recklessness; that invincibility he'd felt for so long. He doesn't miss the person he was, not really. It's strange to look back and remember the person that he used to be. But it sucks to know what's out there, how scary the world can be, in a way that most _adults_ don't. 

At least he's not alone. When he lost Nancy, he'd thought that was it. The last, the only person, who cared about him was gone—and it wasn't even _real_. Somehow, though, he's had more people caring about him since then than he's ever had. It's enough to make thinking about her hurt a little less; the ache in his chest seems more reserved for his anxiety over his future than the heartbreak he'd felt right after it happened.

"So what do you think so far?"

Steve doesn't curl his hand into a fist or drum his fingers against his leg or even swallow dryly. He shrugs a shoulder, smiles, and jokes, "Not as glamorous as I was led to believe."

"Uh huh," Hopper says, taking off his hat and spinning it slowly in his hands. "Whoever told you it was glamorous was a liar."

"Yeah, seems like it." Steve looks out at the trees and down the road, then back at Hopper. "But it's not so bad."

If he says it enough times, it will eventually be true.

Hopper grins and before Steve can react, Hopper's hat is being shoved on top of his head.

"No, watch the hair!"

Lie sitting heavy on his tongue, Steve still can't help but join in when Hopper laughs.

"It looks good on you," Hopper teases with bright eyes and a grin that stretches across his face. So even though Steve is going to have hat hair after spending way too long this morning styling it just right, he leaves the hat where it is. It doesn't fit right, but that's okay. He can get used to it. 

* * *

Coming home to another rejection letter shouldn't hit so hard. He's had plenty of experience since the first one showed up at the start of the month. Given that there are a handful of schools he hasn't heard back from yet, he suspects it won't be his last. Somehow there isn't a single school out there willing to take him. Not without some donation for a new building or something, to pave the way.

Even if his dad is still willing to do anything like that, he certainly wouldn't do _this_ one. It isn't one of the names Steve has heard mentioned time and time again over the years. It also isn't somewhere he particularly wants to go. None of that loosens the vice tightening around his chest at the knowledge that he's one step closer to graduating high school with only one option for his future.

Steve crumples the whole thing into a ball. At least no one else is around to see the school's logo and get curious. Not that he thinks anyone is getting their hopes up at this point. 

His parents haven't brought it up in months. He'd always kind of figured, for their reputations if nothing else, they would be pushing him towards a university of their choice and making it happen whether he wanted it or not. The fact that they're not tells him all he needs to know; it would be a waste of money and time to smooth the way for him. It isn't like he _wants_ to force himself through four more years of classes that he's no good at. If they don't bribe somewhere to take him in, that's one more spot for a person who deserves it.

He just wishes he had _options_.

God, is being overly dramatic a side effect of all the time he's spent with Dustin? Of course he has options. Plenty of people start working right out of high school and do fine. Better than fine. Steve just wishes he had some idea of what he would _like_ to do, and how to get there whenever he figures it out.

Even if he does, though, what does that mean for him and Hopper? Hopper wouldn't try to keep Steve from going after something he wants, but that doesn't mean he won't be upset. Steve hates the idea of disappointing him. What if he tries something else and _fails_? Hopper might not give him another chance at working with him.

Everything would be easier to think about if he had even a semi-solid idea of what that supposed other job might look like. Right now all he knows is that he's going to be graduating in a couple of months. For now, he'll just keep riding along with Hopper, finding out what's required of him to get a job at the station.

A couple of months is plenty of time to figure things out. It has to be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter today, guys!

Steve falls face first into bed and sighs. His mattress is like heaven to sink into after being up most of the night with the kids. 

Sometimes it's still hard to believe that this is his life. He's so much older than them and they could just hang out with him for the rides he gives them, or all the space using his house gives them. And maybe that is all a little bit true for Mike. But the rest of them are way too genuine to be faking it. Dustin, he knows, can't lie without being awkward—more awkward than he usually is. 

Being included is great. Steve appreciates it. But they're going to have to start coming over earlier in the day for their hours-long campaigns.

They showed up one by one late last night, permission already given for sleepovers—Steve is sure their parents all thought they were at one of the other kids' houses—and ready to include Steve in their game. He still sucks at it with all the improvising and trying to keep straight what he can and can't—or shouldn't—do, but they never get mean when they tease him about it.

They didn't finish until it was late enough to be early and then passed out around his living room. His back doesn't appreciate the way he slept all scrunched up against the front of the couch. The kids all seemed fine when they woke up, still way too early but raring to get on with the rest of their weekend. Now it's late morning and Steve is ready to sleep the rest of the day, maybe the next two, away.

The sound of the phone ringing puts his plan on hold. Steve would love nothing more than to roll over, shove his pillow over his head, and ignore it. He can't do it, though. Every time the phone rings, he worries that it's Hopper or Dustin or even Nancy calling to tell him that someone is missing or there's another monster on the loose. That hasn't been the case so far, but he still can't bring himself to ignore it.

With a mournful sigh, Steve pushes himself off the bed. He takes the stairs two at a time, only stumbles once, and makes it to the phone before it stops ringing. "Hello?"

"Steve, it's Hopper."

"Oh, hey. Everything okay?" Hopper sounds a little off. Not angry or urgent like there's something to worry about, but still. Off. If it was an emergency, though, Steve is sure he would have gone for the radio first.

"Yeah, we're fine. Listen, I have a favor to ask."

Steve can feel his weekend of sleep slipping through his fingers. "Shoot, what's up?"

"I hate to ask, I know you've probably got other things to do."

"It's fine," he says with a mental shrug. "I don't have any plans."

"If you're sure," Steve makes an agreeing sound, "Would you mind running to the store? El made me promise not to go anywhere this weekend, and well."

"Yeah, I know how she is," Steve says, smiling. His bed is still calling to him, but it can wait. Hopper wouldn't be asking if they didn't need it. Even if they have more than he's making it sound, Steve can't fight the urge he has to prove to Hopper that he's—what? Dependable? Not the waste of time and money his parents have written him off as? Besides, he feels a bit responsible if they're out of food already. Steve is the one who keeps coming over and using all of it. "Sure, need anything special or...?"

"Just food. Whatever you normally get works. I'll pay you back before you head home."

He wonders if Hopper is aware of just how much he normally brings over. Maybe they really _are_ that low on everything. Steve wishes he'd checked the last time he was there. He could have gotten this done sometime during the week, or insisted that the kids come over earlier so he could have slept last night.

"Sounds good. See you guys in a little while."

"You're a life-saver, thanks kid."

The gratitude and relief he can hear in Hopper's voice goes a long way. He has the rest of the weekend to do nothing. A trip to the grocery store for a couple of his favorite people really isn't that much of a hardship.

"You're welcome."

* * *

The trip through the store is _not_ nothing. Everyone and their moms seem to have decided today is the perfect day to go shopping. Steve almost loses a hand reaching for some broccoli.

Exhaustion is a hell of a thing. He _knows_ getting the food he needs isn't actually that hard. Simple tasks always feel a hundred times more difficult when he hasn't gotten any sleep. Even so, he's sure he's never seen the store so packed. Going to the next closest town might actually have saved him some time.

By the time everything is checked out and put away in his trunk, he's ready to drop right there. Soon. All he has to do is make it to the cabin.

Where he didn't think about the fact that he would have to haul the bags through the woods first. He's been making this same trek for months. How did he not think about that?

Bags in his arms, Steve takes extra care not to trip over any branches. Or his own feet. If he doesn't pay close attention to where he's stepping, he doesn't trust himself not to fall over. Reaching the door without dropping any of the food feels like a victory.

He hears the locks all click.

"Food's here!" he says as he lets himself in. The TV is on and Hopper and El are sitting together on the couch, El tucked into Hopper's side. Suddenly the whole miserable day is worth it. Sometimes El needs a relaxing day with her dad, when they can enjoy each other's company before they start getting on each other's nerves again.

Hopper moves to stand but Steve shakes his head, "I got it."

"You sure?" Hopper asks even as he settles back into the cushions.

"Yeah. Pretty sure I know where everything goes." Considering Steve is the one who reorganized everything. He winks at El when she laughs. When he realized how often he was going to be cooking while he was here, he had to set things up in a way that made sense to him. It's not very fun, or efficient, spending five minutes looking for the eggs or vegetables or flour every time he starts making something.

Hopper wasn't lying; the fridge is mostly bare before he gets everything put away. Steve doesn't know how he missed it through the week, but they have stuff now and that's what matters.

"Done," he says, hands on his hips as he gives the counter a onceover. Looks good. Steve sighs, glad that he's finally done. He's heading for the door when El catches his eye. She looks up at him with wide eyes and he already knows he doesn't want to hear whatever she's about to say. He stops anyway. If there is a way to resist that look, he hasn't found it yet.

"What's up?"

"Will you make lunch?" she asks. Hopper nudges her with his elbow. "Please. Will you make lunch, please?"

Steve's right. He wishes he hadn't heard it.

"Sure, kiddo," he tells her, smiling. "What are we thinking? Grilled cheese?"

She grins and he knows he made the right call. At least it's something easy. Bread, butter, cheese. He can do that in his sleep.

"Hopper?"

"Sounds great."

Steve shoots them a double thumbs up without thinking about it. "Sure thing."

It doesn't take long before he has a few sandwiches plated up. He hands them each their own since they look comfortable enough not to want to move. Selfishly, Steve would also rather sit on a cushion than in one of the kitchen chairs. Getting to recline a bit rather than having to sit up straight sounds great right now.

"Thank you."

Steve winks at El and bumps his fist against her shoulder.

"You're welcome."

Steve takes the free space on El's other side, sighing in relief. Finally, he can relax. Hopper turns to him with a smirk that smooths out when he actually looks at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah?" Steve says, covering his mouth when he can't hold back a yawn. "Just tired."

"You didn't have to make us lunch," Hopper says, his forehead creased. Steve holds his plate tighter. "We would have managed."

"It's fine." Steve focuses on picking up the first half of his sandwich. All he did was yawn. It's not a big deal.

"Mhmm." Hopper and El exchange a look but Steve does his best to ignore them and eat.

He's finished the half in his hand when his head starts to tip back against the top of the couch. Keeping his eyes open is a struggle with the way his eyelids feel like they weigh a ton. He blinks in confusion when his lap is suddenly lighter, before he sees El taking his plate.

"I'm not done," he says around another yawn.

"Yes you are."

He can't tell if Hopper is annoyed or amused. It would be easier if Steve could focus on his face, but his eyes aren't cooperating. Hopper grabs his legs, maneuvering them until Steve is stretched out across the couch. Someone lifts his head long enough to set a pillow under it and something brushes through his hair. It feels nice. Steve pushes into it with a tired hum before he falls asleep.

* * *

When he wakes up, the world outside of the windows has gone dark. Steve blinks tacky eyes in confusion while he tries to remember what day it is. When did he—right, Hopper asked him to get food. He vaguely remembers eating part of his sandwich, but it's all pretty hazy after that. He has no idea how long he's been sleeping, but he must have been more tired than he thought if neither of them moving around managed to wake him up.

"Feeling better?"

Steve tilts his head without lifting it off the pillow. It's soft and he doesn't want to move. Hopper is watching him from the armchair, arms crossed over his chest. His voice is mostly even, but he looks a little annoyed. Swallowing, Steve pushes himself up on one elbow.

"I'm fine," he says, holding back a yawn. If he closed his eyes, he's sure he could sleep the rest of the night through. "Time's it?"

"Not late. 'Bout eight o'clock."

"What, really? It's been," he tries to do the counting in his head but he's still fuzzy. 

"Seven hours, yeah. Must have needed it."

"The kids kept me up pretty late." Steve rubs his eyes. "Guess it's about time to head home."

Any other time Steve would think nothing of staying but Hopper doesn't look happy. Steve would rather not overstay his welcome any more than he already has.

"You're not going anywhere but to bed," Hopper tells him. "You can take mine."

"Wha—No, I'm. I can't take your bed."

"You can and you will." Hopper scrubs his fingers through his beard. His face softens as he sighs. "I wouldn't have asked for your help today if I'd known you were up so late."

"I know," Steve says, sitting the rest of the way up. "It's not a big deal."

"It's not—" Hopper cuts himself off and shakes his head. When he looks at Steve this time, he offers a small smile. "Thank you for shopping and making lunch. We really appreciate it. Especially when you were tired."

Steve eyes him warily, wondering where the change in tone is coming from. "You're welcome…"

"I would also appreciate it if you stayed here tonight so I don't have to worry about you falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into a tree. Give me some peace of mind, okay?"

Still confused over the way Hopper has shrugged off his annoyance, Steve nods. His body is heavy and he knows it won't take much for him to fall back asleep when he tries. "I can sleep on the couch, though."

"Fine," Hopper says with a nod. Steve gets the distinct impression that Hopper feels like he's won something here. He can't find it in him to worry about what that is now that he knows Hopper isn't mad. As Steve lays back down, Hopper pushes out of the chair. He expects Hopper to head to bed himself—it occurs to him in this moment that El isn't here and Steve hopes she's not annoyed about losing out on the couch for most of the day—but he doesn't. Once Steve's head has hit the pillow, Hopper is there rearranging his blanket until it covers him from his shoulders down. Steve holds his breath. He can't remember the last time anyone tucked him into bed.

"Get some sleep," Hopper says and Steve nods. He listens for Hopper's footsteps after he closes his eyes. He's surprised again when he feels Hopper brush some hair off his forehead, lingering there for a moment. "Night, kid."

Steve smiles, burying his face further into the pillow. His whole body feels light and warm and only some of it has to do with the blanket tucked around him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter! Almost to the end, you guys. Hope you enjoy :D

For the first time in weeks—months when he thinks about it—Steve has a Friday to himself. The kids don't need a ride anywhere. Mike had something with his family he couldn't get out of, so there won't be any game or movie with the group tonight. He could go to the cabin, but Hopper and El are supposed to be having a day to themselves and he doesn't want to interrupt. 

Being alone is giving him too much time to _think_ , though. He starts a movie but it can't hold his attention through the first scene. Homework is out of the question. Besides the fact that he doesn't see the point with graduation practically around the corner, there's no way he will retain anything that he tries to read right now. Imagining it is enough to give him the start of a headache.

"Fuck this," he says to himself, turning the movie off. He grabs his wallet and his keys and doesn't bother locking the door when he leaves the house. If anyone cares enough to break in, they're welcome to any of his parents' expensive things. Anything Steve is sentimental enough to not want to lose—a drawing from El and another from Will, a slingshot of Lucas' and his dice from Dustin—aren't valuable to anyone else.

The hum of the tires on the road and the steering wheel under his hands ease some of the anxiety swirling around in his chest. Turning his music up until he can't hear himself think, Steve sets off down the road. He doesn't have a destination in mind. It's enough that he's out, that he's moving. Not worrying about graduation or the future or any of it. Just driving past the houses in his neighborhood and in the opposite direction of town.

He doesn't know how long he's been driving when he sees an all too familiar teenager walking along the road. The urge to screech to a halt is almost too strong to ignore—what the hell is El doing out here, where anyone driving along could see her? The town isn't so small that everyone knows everyone, but people tend to be curious and concerned enough to pull over when they see a kid by themselves along the edge of the street.

Or maybe he's overreacting. She looks _so_ young to Steve but she isn't. Not really. It isn't all that strange for a teenager to be out, even without their friends. But there's months before her last year of isolation is over. He knows that she knows better than to just go wandering.

Steve pulls up alongside her, car moving at a crawl. She doesn't startle or look surprised that it's him when he catches her eye. For all he knows, she _saw_ that he was coming along this way and that's why she's so out in the open. He hopes that's what happened; he doesn't want anything to risk her chance at getting a normal life.

"Hey," he says when she pulls the door open and climbs into the passenger seat. "Seatbelt."

He expects her to roll her eyes but she doesn't. She pulls the seatbelt across her chest and buckles in, crossing her arms in front of her. Steve watches her for a moment, waiting for her to say something or even look at him. When she does neither, he nods and pulls back onto the street. 

He turns his music down so that he can only just hear it. There is no sound but that and the hum of the car for a few minutes. Steve doesn't want to push. There are no rips in her clothes, he can't see any scrapes or bruises or even a runny nose. So long as she isn't hurting, he can give her the time she needs to feel like she can talk to him.

"We had a fight."

Steve drums his fingers against the steering wheel. "You and Hopper?"

He sees her nod out of the corner of his eye. She leans forward, curling in on herself and that's. That's not okay.

"Hey," he says softly, placing a gentle hand on her back. "It's okay."

She sniffs and rubs one of her eyes. So far he doesn't see any tears, but he's already wishing he had more than a couple napkins to offer her if she needs to cry. "Do you want to hang out at my house for a bit?"

She nods again, pressing back into his hand. "Please."

"Sure thing, kiddo."

It's a little hard to drive while rubbing her back, but the one time he tries to move it, El makes a noise that shoots straight through his heart. Rather than upset her, he drives more carefully than usual and gets them back to his house without any accidents. 

Once she's sitting on the couch with the TV on and holding one of his mom's throw pillows, Steve calls Hopper. Or, well, uses the radio that Hopper gave him months ago so he could reach the cabin.

"Hey, Hopper," he says after he's clicked the code Hopper made him memorize months ago. 

They don't use the radio often. It was a bigger deal right after the gate closed, but it isn't like the government isn't very aware of El's location. He could call from the house phone but he thinks it might be better to talk in private. His bedroom is a whole floor away from where El is waiting for him, rather than a room away like the kitchen would be. 

It also allows him to get comfortable while he's using the radio. The springs in his mattress squeak when he sits on it. Must be about time to go looking for a new one, though he's had more important things on his mind this year. "She's with me."

A few seconds later he hears Hopper sigh, breath crackling in the speaker. "She okay?"

"Yeah, I think she knew where I was, you know? Came out when I got close. Listen, we're going to hang out at my house for a bit. But I'll get her back home tonight."

Hopper is quiet for a minute. Steve leans forward, elbows on his thighs, and rests the microphone to his chin while he waits. He can picture in his head Hopper running a hand across his face. Maybe digging the knuckle of his thumb into that spot on his forehead the way he does when he's frustrated.

"That's fine," he says eventually. He sounds tired. Not entirely surprising after what was probably one hell of a fight and the fear that followed after El was gone. At least she didn't take another bus to Chicago. "Thanks, Steve."

"Anytime." Steve glances at the door as though he'll somehow be able to see down the stairs from here. He doesn't want to leave her alone too long. Not because he thinks she'll leave—if she didn't want to be here, she wouldn't have let him see her on the road, he's sure of it—but because she's upset. It's hard enough being angry and hurt; it's worse when you're going through it alone. Steve has some experience in that area, though he hadn't realized exactly how much he was missing until this last year. Having people around you who care? Makes all the difference in the world. "I'll make sure she gets dinner before we head back. Hopefully not too late, though."

"If she needs to stay the night, if you're okay with that, I mean…"

"Sleepovers are great. She's always welcome," Steve says when Hopper trails off. "But I'll have her home tonight. Just gonna let her chill out for a bit first. Make sure you eat, too, okay? There should be some leftovers in the fridge if you don't want to make anything."

The line goes quiet, but not long enough for Steve to worry before he hears Hopper chuckle. "Sure thing, kid." He sounds better, less heavy. Steve pictures him again with less frustration on his face. He hopes the man is smiling, or at least not frowning quite so hard. "Have fun."

"Sure. See you later." Steve waits for Hopper's sign off before setting the microphone down and heading out of the room. Hopper will be okay for a bit. Now he has a teenager to check on.

El is on the couch where he left her when he reaches the living room, still holding the throw pillow to her chest. He's seen how she sometimes clings to the stuffed lion she keeps on her bed. Looks like giving her something soft here was the right call; she looks calmer. The pillow isn't creased under the grip of her fingers anymore.

"Hey."

Steve sits down next to her. She falls over into his side, tucking herself up under his arm. Smiling down at her, Steve pulls her in closer. Moments like this are still, even months later, new enough to be savored. Especially when he knows that, no matter how behind she is compared to other kids, someday soon she's going to figure out that teenagers don't like to cuddle up with older, uncool people. Probably sooner than he'd like.

"Hi," she says, rubbing her cheek against his chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks, squeezing her arm. She picks at the edging on the pillow. His mom will freak out if she notices a thread out of place but Steve doesn't say anything. "You don't have to. We could pop in a movie, maybe make something to eat? I've got everything to make pizza, if you want."

He shakes her gently but doesn't loosen his grip. El rubs her cheek against his chest again before looking up at him. "Movie?"

"Sure," he says with a crooked smile. "What do you want to watch? Please don't say Ghostbuster. Your _friends_ have made me watch it so many times I can quote it in my sleep."

El sits up and Steve does not like the innocent look on her face. She smiles and tilts her head to the side. "Ghostbusters? Please."

"Nooo." Steve sticks out his bottom lip. He tries to send her his own version of puppy dog eyes but hers are better. It hasn't been thirty seconds before he caves. With a sigh, Steve pushes himself off the couch to put the VHS in the VCR. They make him watch it so often he keeps the tape on the entertainment center because it's easier than putting it back on the shelf every time they come over. He doesn't understand their fascination with it. They've seen so many insane things in real life; why do they want to watch a bunch of grown men chasing after ghosts?

El doesn't duck from his hand when he ruffles her hair on the way to the kitchen. "Popcorn?" he asks, even though he already knows the answer.

"Mmm, yes."

Her eyes light up when he comes back with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a box of peanut m&ms in the other. A couple cans of pop are pressed between his arm and his side; it's uncomfortably cold but worth it for the way El grins when she sees all the treats.

"Scooch over," he says, plopping down next to her. All the kids have been over enough times to know that he prefers to sit on the right side of the couch. He's pretty sure they think it's just his spot. It's not, not really. For the most part when he's on his own, Steve will sprawl out over whatever surface is closest. When everyone is here, he can't relax unless he's closest to the front door. He doesn't know why the sliding door to the pool doesn't bother him, considering—Barb. Maybe the fact that when he has the blinds open, he can see everything out there. 

He can't keep his eyes on the front door, though. He enjoys being part of the group when everyone is over, but because he needs to be between them and anything that might crash through, he's claimed the corner seat for himself. 

"Thank you," she says, taking the bowl and one of the cans from under his arm when Steve sits down.

"You're welcome." He smiles, shaking the box of m&ms. "Want to try?"

She nods, eyebrows crinkling when Steve tips the box over the popcorn. "What?"

"Trust me," he tells her, setting the nearly empty box on the coffee table. "Dustin showed me this. He's a genius."

El doesn't seem to know whether she should agree and Steve laughs. "If you don't like it, I've got plenty more popcorn. Try it for me? You might be surprised."

"I'll try." Slowly, she takes out a few popped kernels, careful to get some chocolate with it. Steve watches her nose scrunch up as she chews before she looks at him with wide eyed delight. "It's good!"

"I was just as surprised as you are," he says, popping open his drink. "Salty and sweet go well together." He nudges her shoulder. "Reminds me of a couple of people I know."

Her lips quirk up in a small smile before it drops and she taps her thumb against the bowl in her lap.

"Hey." He nudges her again and waits until she meets his eyes before continuing. "Whatever your fight was about, it's gonna be okay"—he switches the can to his left hand, holding his right out, pinky up—"Promise."

Her lips slowly tip up at the corners and she joins their pinkies together, giving them a quick shake. "Okay."

"Okay. Now let's get this party started," he says, waggling his eyebrows. She giggles, curling into his side again. The bowl ends up sitting on top of both of their legs. Steve rests his feet against the coffee table, happy to let El copy him. No one is around to see them breaking the rules.

* * *

It's early enough when the movie ends that Steve has time to put some dinner together before he has to take El home. She follows him into the kitchen, setting the empty popcorn bowl into the sink before taking a seat.

"Want to help out or watch?" Steve asks, cutting board in his hands.

"Watch?" 

Winking, Steve smiles reassuringly at her when she sounds hesitant. The last thing he wants is for her to think he'll be upset if she doesn't want to cook with him. It shouldn't be a _chore_ to her. Making food together should be fun. Something she's excited to learn more about, because even though it's been months there is still always more to learn.

"No problem, kiddo," he says and her shoulders lose some of their tension.

"How 'bout instead of pizza, I make something simpler tonight? And we can try something new soon, when you're up for it," he says, setting up a pot of water on the stove to boil.

She brightens, sitting up. "Really?"

"Sure. There's plenty we haven't tried making together. Next time I go shopping for you, I'll pick up what we need to make something fun. Sound good?"

"Yes." She grins, watching him chop up some tomatoes. He smiles back before letting himself get lost in the chopping and getting another pan out and turning everything into a real, quick, dinner. El watches him the entire time, even after he tells her she's welcome to use the TV while she's waiting. She shakes her head, resting her chin on his hands and settling in at the table.

Fifteen minutes later he's setting a couple plates of pasta on the table.

"Smells good," El tells him when he takes the seat across from her.

"Thanks."

When she's halfway through her plate, Steve leans forward, cheek on his fist. "Ready to talk about it?"

El's chewing slows for a second and she seems to search his face before nodding. "It's stupid."

"I bet it's not." The fight might not have been necessary, but they're rarely stupid. Just explosive with the way El is stuck there and Hopper feels bad about her situation. "Was it about the wait again?"

The closer it gets to the year being up, the more antsy she's been getting. Steve knows he can't really understand what it's been like for her, but he knows those last few weeks of waiting are torturous when you know what's coming on the other side. It's got to feel so much stronger for her.

She shakes her head. Taking another bite, El stares at him. The kind of look that feels like it goes right through him. "Graduation."

Steve blinks. "Graduation?"

El nods, setting her fork down. She leans over the table. "I want to go to your graduation."

There is a determinedness in her eyes that, well. He generally associates the look on her face with more important things than him finally getting out of high school. "El that's not, you can't—"

"I _can_ ," she insists, hands palm down on the table. "I can wear a dis...guise. Like at the school."

"Kiddo, I…" He looks at her and his chest aches at the sight of her wet, shining eyes. She wants to go so bad she's nearly in tears over it and he hates how it still has to be a _no_. "Your safety comes first."

She shakes her head. "It will _be_ safe."

El is probably right. Steve can't imagine any government officials staking out a high school graduation just to make sure she stays put. Especially when he's the only one who was involved in all of that craziness that's graduating this year. He can't be high up on anyone's list of people to keep an eye on—at least that's what he tells himself to not let the paranoia take hold.

Her hair is so much longer than it was when she was allowed to go to the dance. If she dresses up in something different than her usual clothes, wears a hat or some sunglasses, no one is going to look twice. She'll just be one kid in a crowd of families cheering their kids on. Maybe she could safely spend a few hours sitting and waiting for his name to be called.

"It'll be boring, you know. Even when they reach my name, we'll be stuck waiting until they're done calling the rest of them."

El shrugs and nods. "I want to go."

Steve reaches across the table and covers one of her hands with his. His leg won't stop bouncing, though he's careful not to let it be too loud. He doesn't like being the one that they're fighting over. "We'll talk it out with Hopper, okay?"

She straightens up, sandwiching his hand between both of hers. "No promises, okay? I don't know if we'll be able to make it work." Squeezing his hand, she nods seriously. "Hopefully we can figure something out."

He squeezes her back before pulling away. They better be able to work out some sort of compromise. He doesn't want fighting over him, ever, let alone for something that doesn't even matter. It's just a day; one that he isn't looking forward to at all. Having her or Hopper there would make it better, he thinks, but he doesn't want to make things difficult.

"Ready to head home?" he asks when her plate is empty. "We've got time if you want to watch a movie or something."

She picks up her plate and rinses it off in the sink. Steve does the same with his, bumping their arms together. Smiling, she shakes her head. "I should go home."

That's what he thought she would say. She's always been brave—before he knew her, even before petal-faced monsters turned out to be real. None of them can take credit for the way she's willing and able to face things that no one likes to. Even so, he's proud of her for wanting to work things out with Hopper now rather than putting it off even longer. 

"Ready to go?" he asks. She takes a deep breath and nods. Squaring her shoulders, she heads out of the kitchen and Steve follows her lead.

* * *

The drive starts out quiet, music low on the radio. Steve drums his fingers to the beat, humming along. He sees El watching him from the corner of his eye. It's a relief to realize how much better she looks now than she did when he found her. Things will work out. Even if she can't come, they'll find something that will make them all happy; or as close to it as her situation allows. For his part, he's trying to push thoughts of that day as far from his mind as he can.

"You haven't been happy."

Fingers stilling, Steve glances at El to find her staring at him in that way that feels like she's seeing more than what's in front of her. "What?"

"You seem…" He looks at her again when she trails off. Her eyebrows are crinkled and she presses her lips together. Steve doesn't like where this conversation is going—El is apparently way too observant for his own good—but he can't let her flounder trying to find the words. Her vocabulary has only gotten better since he's known her but there are still moments like now when she needs some help.

"It's okay, we'll figure out the word," he tells her. "It's not sad, is it?"

She shakes her head. He thought as much; Steve has been feeling a lot of things lately, but sad hasn't been one of them. "No, not sad."

He taps his index finger against the steering wheel. "...Scared?" he asks reluctantly because it's a little too close to the truth.

El tilts her head back and forth. "A kind of scared," she says, nodding. "Not like with the monsters. Worried."

The band around Steve's chest gets tighter. He concentrates on breathing, nice and even, and watching the road. So far he thought he's been doing a decent enough job shoving his nerves down while around the kids. No one has said anything; Dustin couldn't be subtle to literally save his life and to be honest, the rest of them aren't much better. Of course, if one of them was going to, it would be El. They spend the most time around each other—and he isn't entirely convinced that her powers aren't part of how she seems strangely in tune with what the people around her are feeling.

"A lot of people get worried when they're getting ready to graduate," he says, gripping the wheel tight. It's hard to keep himself from tapping it again, and he can't bounce his leg while he's driving, but he needs to stop fidgeting.

"Steve."

He feels her looking at him. It isn't a lie, but it's not the whole truth and of course she knows it. This would be so much easier if he could just lie to her. He can't. One of her most important rules is that friends don't lie—thanks a lot, Mike—and he doesn't want to think about how she will look, how she'll _feel_ , if Steve doesn't tell her the truth. He sighs, turning the radio all the way down. 

"You don't have to worry about me," he starts, shaking his head when he sees her move to speak. "I'm serious. I'm okay. I'm...I don't know what I want to do when I graduate, that's all."

El leans in. "Working with Hopper?"

Steve swallows. "Yeah, I mean, Hopper thinks I'll be good at it. And it's"—he runs a hand through his hair and goes right back to tapping his fingers against the wheel because he can't help it—"not like I have any other options. I'll make it work, okay?"

"You don't want to go to school?"

Steve laughs, shaking his head. "No. Even if I did, none of them want me. And that's fine, El, it _is_. I've never been good at school, real school. I think I can manage the stuff I'd need to take to work with Hopper, though."

"But you don't _want_ to?"

What is he supposed to say when he can't, _won't_ , lie to her? "Hopper wants me to."

"What do you want?"

Steve has had months to think about just that, since he realized the future he'd been planning with Nancy was never going to happen. Last year he had it all figured out. Stick around town, work for his dad, wait for Nancy to graduate. Follow her wherever she went for school. Working for his dad might still be an option, but it's not any better than working with Hopper. He thinks it will be worse, actually, sharing the Harrington name while still getting stuck getting people's coffee or copying papers. It sounds easy enough but he pisses his dad off enough by existing half the time; messing up at work would make it so much worse.

"I don't know," he says eventually, shrugging. "But hey"—he reaches over and ruffles her hair—"it's okay. Most people don't like their jobs. I can handle it, at least until I figure out what else I want to do."

She frowns harder but doesn't say anything. The rest of the drive passes quietly. There's a breeze when they get out of the car and it feels easier to breathe. The conversation left the air heavy for that last stretch. Steve meets El on the other side of the car and bumps her arm. 

"Ready?"

She takes a deep breath and nods. "Ready."

He nods back and drapes his arm around her shoulders as they start the trek through the trees. It's a familiar walk and one that thankfully doesn't bother him as much as it used to. Back when he was first getting used to keeping El company, he was more than a little freaked out. With nothing but trees surrounding him on all sides and having just dealt with monsters _again_ , he's not ashamed to say it was scary at the time.

Since the cabin itself has become so much closer to a home than his actual house, this is probably the only part of the woods around town that doesn't bother him. The fact that he makes this walk so often he could do it with his eyes closed helps, too.

" _Will_ you be happy?"

El slows to a stop. Steve stops with her. She looks so serious as she stares up at him and he doesn't know what to say. _Will_ he be? Working for Hopper might be okay. Better than working for his real—for his dad. But it's hard to shove aside the dread that creeps up on him when he imagines working for, well. It's a lot closer to the government than he's comfortable with. He wonders if Hopper ever thinks about it at all. If it bothers him. It has to, right?

Maybe he does it because it's safer for El, for the town in general, if he sticks around. If he stays in charge, he can keep an eye on everything. And maybe Steve will feel the same once he starts. He's not confident, though, that it won't lead to him ending up _more_ paranoid than he already is.

He shrugs. "I hope so."

It's the best he can do without lying. Most of the time he doesn't think he will, but hopes he can figure out how to be. It won't be forever. He can take the courses he needs and do the training and figure out what else he wants to do while he's working.

El nods slowly, then starts walking again. Fast enough that Steve has to pick up his pace to catch up with her.

"Hey, what's up?"

She doesn't answer him, but she does reach for his hand when he catches up to her. He isn't quite being dragged along by her, but that's only because he widens his stride so he doesn't fall behind.

Apparently they're in such a hurry that El doesn't bother with the knock. He hears the locks all slide out of place and the door opens without either of them touching it. Hopper couldn't have done it; he's on the couch staring at their entrance when El leads Steve inside. She pulls Steve with her until they're standing right in front of him.

"Tell him," she says, shaking Steve's hand. He freezes up, breath catching in his throat. His heart starts to beat faster, he looks down at her with wide eyes only to find that she isn't talking to him. She's staring hard at Hopper. Focused as he is on calming himself down, Steve is slightly worried that El might start making things fly around until Hopper does when she says.

Hopper raises his eyebrows, settling back against the cushions. Steve thinks he looks surprised but not confused, which makes one of them. That's good. Maybe. Steve would love to know what's going on but since it's about him—and probably not about El getting to attend graduation—he's kind of afraid to find out.

"Um—" Steve starts, but El cuts him off with a sharp, "Shh!" and a quick _look_ before focusing all of her attention back on Hopper. _Okay_ , Steve mouths without making a sound. Probably better to not piss off the superpowered teenager any more than she already is. 

"Tell. Him."

"Okay." Hopper raises his hands. "You gonna let him go?"

Steve raises his own eyebrows when she glances up at him and shakes her head. Hopper only nods, sliding from the middle of the couch so that he's leaning against the arm instead. He pats the space beside him. "Come on, kid. Guess we're having this conversation now."

Steve would rather not, actually. This doesn't sound great for him. He doesn't seem to get a choice, though. El, still keeping hold of his hand, pushes at him until he moves to sit. His heart starts pounding in his chest again.

"What conversation?" he chokes out, wishing he could make it steadier.

"The one I should have had with you at least a month ago."

Hopper twists until he's facing Steve. His face is way too soft and sympathetic and Steve's stomach clenches. El squeezes his hand tight—or maybe it's him who is holding on hard to hers. He can't tell. Hopper rubs the back of his head as he seems to think over what he's planning to say. Steve doesn't know whether he wants him to get it over with faster or never find the words.

"You don't want to be a deputy," is what he says after a minute. He looks Steve in the eyes, puts his hand on Steve's shoulder, and just comes right out with it.

"What are you talking about?" Steve wants to look back at El but can't tear his eyes away from Hopper's. "Of course I—"

El holds him tighter even as Hopper interrupts him before he can finish the lie. "You don't. And that's okay. Kid, I was serious when I told you no pressure. I just," he rubs his other hand down his face. "I know you've been worried about what to do when you graduate."

Steve swallows, nodding slowly.

"I just wanted to give you an option. Something with less focus on school because I know you don't enjoy it. But it was always a choice, _your_ choice. I'm not going to take it personally if you don't want to work for me."

"That's, it's not that," Steve says, feeling like he has to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth to get it out, "It's not...That isn't why."

Hopper shouldn't think that any of Steve's reluctance is about _him_. Hopper, everyone at the station—except maybe Callahan—are all great. They've made him feel welcome; even seem excited about him joining them in the future. That's more than he expects from anywhere else.

"Okay."

Hopper nods and doesn't ask for a reason. Steve could leave it at this.

"You're really not—" _mad_ , he wants to ask. Disappointed. Upset that Steve doesn't want what he does, the way Steve knows his dad feels about him.

"Kid, _Steve_. I'm not whatever it is you've been worried about me being. Whatever the reason—and you don't have to tell me, you don't own me an explanation—it's okay."

He lets go of Steve but doesn't look away as he sits back. "I'm starting to think no one has told you this, but you're eighteen. You haven't graduated from high school yet. I know you've been spending a lot of time with kids that are too smart for their own good"—Steve snorts, some of the tension in his shoulders easing away—"but most people don't have their whole future planned out by the end of high school. I sure as shit didn't. If it takes a year, a couple years, longer? You're young. You've got _time_."

He rests his hand on the top of Steve's head and gives it a shake the way Steve does to Dustin so often. Steve breathes and doesn't move, letting Hopper mess up his hair because no one's ever done it to him before. Only as a joke, back when he was still friends with Tommy who thought it was _hilarious_ to fuck with his hair. It doesn't feel like a joke right now. "Understand?"

"Y—" Steve clears his throat, "Yeah, I understand."

Hopper curls his fingers, scratching Steve's head and messing his hair up even worse. "Good," he says, sliding his hand down to rest on the back of Steve's neck.

"The government kind of _really_ freaks me out." The words fall from Steve's mouth in a rush that he can't hold back. "And I know it's not the same thing, like, I'm not really smart or anything but I'm not an idiot, I know working at Hawkins PD isn't anything like the"—he pulls El's hand closer to his side—"the lab or the agents that made us sign all those fucking NDAs but it still. It still freaks me out."

He shrugs lamely, feeling both lighter for having gotten it off his chest and like the idiot he just declared he _wasn't_ because it's such a stupid reason.

El lets go of his hand but wraps him up in a tight hug before he can embarrass himself by trying to get it back. "You're smart," she says into his side.

Steve shakes his head. "That's what you got out of all of that? I think you need your hearing checked."

"Friends don't lie."

"Yeah," Hopper says before Steve can tell her he doesn't think she's lying, just misinformed. "I told you before, you've got good instincts. You don't have to get straight As to be smart. Hell, I think I do pretty okay and I was a solid C student—when I showed up."

Right, Hopper has been clear about how he'd done in school since that first test Steve was so proud about getting a C+ on. Hopper is one of the smartest, non-genius people he knows—someone who isn't like Nancy or Dustin but still _knows_ so much. A lot of that is probably experience, but that has to mean there's hope for Steve to get there, too, right? 

"I didn't realize how much all of it bothered you when I brought it up. If I did, I wouldn't have suggested it. _Especially_ since you seem to have trouble saying no."

Steve ducks his head. "I can say no."

"Sure you can." Hopper pats his back gently enough it's almost like he's rubbing it instead. "But apparently you have trouble saying no to _me_. We'll work on that."

"You _want_ me to say no to you?" Steve looks at Hopper like he's crazy because why else would he want Steve to tell him no?

"I want you to be comfortable and know that it's an option. I'm not Fred Harrington. I'm not," his voice goes as soft as his touch, as soft as Steve has ever heard him, "going to disappear or be disappointed if you disagree with me or have different ideas—or no idea—of what you're going to do."

Shit. Steve is _not_ going to start crying right now but it is really hard to keep his eyes from tearing up. He's an adult, but right now he feels every bit a kid who has no idea what he wants to do—what he is capable of doing. He really wants a hug, more than the one El still hasn't released him from.

Hopper might somehow be a mind reader because the next thing Steve knows, he's being pulled into the man's chest and hugged tight. With no hesitation, Steve wraps his arms around him in return. El lets go of him, making it easier to lean into Hopper's chest and bury his face in his shoulder. Hopper pats his back but doesn't move.

"You're a good kid."

It's hard to imagine either of his parents ever doing this for him or needing it themselves but now that he's here, getting the hug he so desperately wanted, he thinks that's sad. There's always been that thought, that expectation that adults don't need to be held like this and he's realizing that can't be true. Maybe his mom and dad wouldn't be so—how they are if they let themselves have this.

Steve has been more open this year than he ever was. Even more than with Nancy. He can't look at El's face when she's upset and not try to make her feel better. Or keep up his attempt at acting too cool for things when he's hanging out with Dustin who can't wait to share a new discovery. His life has been so much fuller, richer than it ever was.

He knows why he let this get to him so bad, but now that it's all out in the open he wishes he hadn't. Months of making himself sick with stress and none of it has been necessary. Hopper isn't going to stop being _there_ with his teasing smirks and proud smiles and his _family_ that he's been sharing with Steve.

"Sorry." His voice comes out muffled but he still doesn't want to move.

"I'm not going to say it's okay, because it's not okay that you felt like you needed to hide this from us, from me. But you don't have to be sorry. Just because it feels like you've been part of the family forever doesn't mean we don't still have things to learn about each other."

There's a lump in Steve's throat that he can't seem to swallow around. He holds Hopper harder, shaking with the effort not to lose it. He knows, he's _known_ for a long time, that Hopper considers Steve one of his. Since that basketball game forever ago, when he told Steve about his talk with Hargrove. Steve has just—he hasn't had much experience being part of a family like the one they've brought him into.

Maybe Hopper's right; he doesn't have to be sorry. They need to keep learning how to read each other. At the very least, Steve is going to do everything he can to drill it into his head that Hopper is _not_ Fred Harrington.

He's a hell of a lot better.

Eventually Steve feels settled enough that he can pull away. He wipes at his eyes, thankful he managed to keep from wetting his cheeks or Hopper's shirt. A laugh tumbles out of him from nowhere, releasing the last of the tension he's been holding onto for he doesn't even know how long. It feels like this conversation has gone on for hours.

They don't laugh with him, but Hopper is smiling when he stops rubbing his eyes long enough to look. El latches right back onto him once he's sitting up.

"Hey, kiddo," he says, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm.

"Happier?" she asks and he laughs again.

"Yeah. Thanks for meddling," he says and shakes her around until she laughs, "but don't get used to it."

"So," Steve says when she's calmed down. He looks down at her for a moment before catching Hopper's eye. "I heard we have another problem that needs solving. Something about this one wanting to go to my graduation ceremony."

El sits up. Steve doesn't have to look to know she's staring at Hopper hard.

Hopper rubs his head and sighs, but he doesn't look disgruntled. He sits back, arm of the couch supporting him, and gives a "let me have it" wave. Steve doesn't know if they will be able to get him to budge, even after all of this, but his chest isn't tight. The urge to bounce his leg or clench his fist to keep from tapping his fingers against El's arm as he talks isn't there. Maybe El will get her way, maybe they'll work out a compromise. Either way, he knows that he has these two in his corner. They've made him part of their little family.

He looks at Hopper, knowing he's about to argue _against_ what the man thinks is the best course of action, and he isn't afraid.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping things up. Hope you've enjoyed the ride! <3

The weather is warming up outside as they head into summer. Steve rolls his window down and breathes it in. The air fills his lungs, leaving him buoyant on the drive to meet Hopper in town. That buoyancy has little to do with the change in weather and everything to do with the weight of worry over his future being lifted from his shoulders. 

He'd known it was bothering him; it would have been impossible not to. The way he expects his stomach to tense at the idea of meeting Hopper almost catches him by surprise. Since Hopper brought up the idea of working with him, he's dreaded their one on one time. Now he doesn't have to. He drums his fingers against the steering wheel as he drives and it's not from nerves. There won't be a need to hold them still to avoid looking like he's fidgeting later. 

Graduation is right around the corner. Steve still doesn't have a plan, but it doesn't feel so scary anymore. When he picked up his Class of '85 shirt, he'd _smiled_. Somehow, after years of classes that felt too hard and monsters—and _people_ who were worse than both—he's made it. Without anxiety clouding every thought of graduating, Steve can appreciate the fact that he's gotten this far.

Who knows what he'll do? His grades aren't enough to get him into any schools and he isn't going to be working for his dad. None of that sounds so terrible now that he knows he isn't going to lose what he _does_ have because of it. His parents won't be happy, but he has time and options and other people who care about him enough to let him think _through_ those options.

It's great.

When he gets into town, he half expects to see the kids despite how clear he'd made it that they were too busy to do anything today. There's no sign of them outside of the arcade when he drives by it. The outside of the diner is also bike free. The small parking lot is mostly empty, too. Steve doesn't see Hopper's truck, but that doesn't mean anything with the station being so close by.

Steve hears his own name being called when he walks in and smiles.

Hopper is sitting at one of the smaller tables, menu lying open beside his hat. He nods his head to the empty seat where a closed menu is already waiting. Steve clenches his hands in his pockets without thinking. It takes him reaching his seat for his body to remember that he doesn't need to react that way anymore. Hopper invited him out today to eat just because he wants to have lunch together. They won't be spending _any_ of their lunch talking about how things will be when Steve is working at the station. The conversation might turn to his future, but the thought doesn't sit uncomfortably at the forefront of his mind.

"Hey," Steve says, pulling the chair out to join him. "Surprised Flo let you out of the building."

Hopper rolls his eyes and Steve is struck by how much it reminds him of El. She's learned little things from all of them. The easiest ones to pick out are what she's learned from Mike; the way he crinkles his eyebrows and tilts his head. But she rolls her eyes like Hopper and can give Steve the same piercing stare that her dad has perfected. Steve's also noticed her knocking Dustin or Lucas in the arm with her fist the way Steve often does with her.

"You are aware _I'm_ the boss at the station?" Hopper asks, eyebrows high on his forehead. Steve nods and shrugs, fighting back a smile.

"Sure, but we all know who's really in _charge_."

Hopper snorts loud enough that the few other people in the diner look at them. He shakes his head, forehead smoothing out. The corners of his eyes crinkle when he smiles. "You got me there."

Steve will always remember the way Flo had patted his hand after Hopper told her about his decision. Hopper told Flo before anyone else. When Steve came into the station after, she'd given him a dimmer than usual smile, but leaned in and—quietly enough no one else could hear—told him that if he ever changed his mind, there was a place for him there. And continued before he could worry that she expected to still see him coming around even if he never changed his mind. Then she'd sent Steve to Hopper's office to bother him for a while. 

Steve hadn't known how much he cared about her opinion until that moment.

"Any other big plans today?" Hopper asks, leaning with his forearms crossed over the table. Steve's mother would have a fit if he ever tried sitting like that at home. He's not sure why the thought pops into his head; they haven't had a family dinner together in a while.

"Kids are busy." Steve gives Hopper a _look_ because the kids being busy can be as dangerous as them being bored. Even keeping an eye on them only gives him a fifty-fifty chance of being able to talk them out of whatever idea they've come up with. For smart kids, they're so dumb sometimes. 

"I might have heard something about that," Hopper says, scratching his nails through his beard. Whatever the kids are doing can't be too bad with him still smiling. Curiosity stronger than ever, Steve holds back the question he wants to ask. If Hopper hasn't said anything yet, he's not going to. Sometimes Steve thinks Hopper gets a little too much enjoyment out of teasing him.

"Anyway," Steve draws out, tapping a finger against his still unopened menu. "I've lost control of my life"—Hopper's smile starts to fade and Steve hurries to continue—"and don't know what to do with myself when they aren't making me drive them all over town."

"I can imagine," Hopper says, sitting back when the waitress comes to take their orders.

"It'll be right out," she tells them as she takes their menus. She's back with their drinks not even a minute later. Perks of getting there when the place is practically empty. Steve stirs his pop with his straw, enjoying the sounds the ice makes against the glass.

"How're you doing?" Hopper asks, leaning his arms on the tabletop again. He looks Steve up and down closely. If Steve had so much as a paper cut, he thinks Hopper would know.

"Good," Steve says, running a finger through the condensation on his cup. Hopper raises his eyebrows at him. "Really. I feel...a lot better about. Everything."

Hopper nods.

"Good," he says, sounding relieved. Steve smiles and tries to cover it by taking a sip of his drink. It's nice having someone checking up on him.

The food is the same as always, with too-large portions that Steve manages to devour in one sitting. Hopper, elbows on the table and his chin resting against his fists, watches him polish off the last bite.

"Guess you really are feeling better," he says. Steve swallows hard, almost a little too soon. Someday he's going to stop being surprised when evidence of how well Hopper knows him presents itself. That Hopper noticed the terrible time Steve's had with food when Steve hardly noticed himself until it stopped.

Steve wipes his napkin across his mouth and nods. He feels even lighter than he had on his drive when Hopper grins. Hopper gets a box for the food still left on his plate. Lunch has gone by way too fast. It's a nice change of pace from those ride-along days that felt like they would never end.

When they finish the last of their drinks, Steve goes to grab the check. With a quick, loud, "Nope," Hopper snaps it off the table. "I've got this."

Steve could argue. Insist that he can pay for his own meal at least; that it's the least he can do after what Hopper has done for _him_ recently. He doesn't. Steve is eighteen, an adult, and very nearly out of high school but Hopper has been very clear—especially since their talk—that he sees Steve as his kid. It's not the same, he knows it's not, but Hopper wouldn't make El pay for lunch if she had the means.

Instead of arguing, Steve holds his hands up in surrender. He chuckles at the suspicious narrowing of Hopper's eyes like he isn't sure he trusts Steve not to snatch the receipt out of his hand and run to the register or something. Maybe if El was here and she brought her powers to the table, Steve would have a chance. But Steve is, slowly but surely, trying to let himself enjoy having someone else treat him the way he's seen other parents treat their kids. If that means letting Hopper pay for a meal that he used to check on Steve's emotional state or whatever, Steve is happy to let him do it.

"Thanks," Steve says as they leave, holding the door open for them. Hopper lets it fall closed behind them and squeezes Steve's shoulder, pulling him close.

"Anytime," Hopper tells him with a final squeeze before pushing Steve in the direction of his car, looking far too amused when Steve hasn't done anything tease-worthy. It's Steve's turn to give him a suspicious look, but Hopper only winks. "Have fun today, kid."

"Sure," he says slowly, watching Hopper start heading towards the station. "Want a ride?"

"I'm good," Hopper says with a huff of laughter. "Give me a chance to walk some of this off."

Steve snorts. "Whatever, Hop. See you later."

Hopper waves at him over his shoulder and Steve gets in the car, shaking his head.

* * *

"SURPRISE!"

Steve jumps. He barely manages to hold the shout that wants to escape him behind his teeth at the wall of noise he encounters when he opens the door. His hand hurts from the tight grip he has on the knob, but he's more focused on the line of kids standing in front of him. In his house. The door was locked, he's sure it was, but his eyes find El and that's one mystery solved. Unlocking doors is something she's had plenty of practice in at the cabin.

"What is this?" he asks, confused.

"Surprise party," El says, a smile stretched wide across her face.

"It's...not my birthday," he says carefully. 

Her smile only grows. "We know."

Dustin holds up a stack of movies with a wide grin of his own. "Surprise movie day. You get to pick!"

Steve narrows his eyes, looking them over slowly. 

"What did you do?" he asks. They don't _look_ hurt. He doesn't smell anything burning or see any broken glass.

Mike rolls his eyes. "Jeez, try to be nice to a guy."

Eyebrows high on his forehead, Steve says, "You're never nice to me."

"That's not true. I let you join our campaigns."

It's not like Steve can argue with that. They invite him to join in a lot. Not on all of the—and he wouldn't agree even if they _did_. But, even though Steve isn't much better now than he'd been when they first started teaching him—Dustin has to remind him what's going on a lot of the time—Mike doesn't complain nearly as much as he could.

"But a surprise party?"

"It was El's idea," Lucas pipes in, reaching behind Dustin and punching Mike's arm. He straightens back up next to Dustin, so close to Max that their arms are touching. The way they've been sort of attached at the hip is cute.

"I'm still not sure," Mike says, "why we're throwing a surprise party _after_ you're feeling better instead of before. But whatever, your worrying was starting to get annoying."

"My what?"

Steve had been _sure_ that they didn't know anything was bothering him. Dustin is the least subtle person he knows. If Dustin had noticed him acting upset, Steve figured there would be no stopping him from trying to coax the reason out. Or Lucas from trying to make him smile, or Max from rolling her eyes but giving him a hug if she thought he needed it. He's not as close to Will as the rest of them and never really factored him into worrying over Steve. 

Unlike most of the others—and Hargrove doesn't _count_ —Will already has an older brother. One that Steve has a less than great history with. Mostly, Steve's thought that the kid was too nice to say anything about this teenager, someone he's sure Will knows used to be a dick to his brother, hanging out with them so much.

But there he is, staring up at Steve with wide eyes and an armful of Steve's favorite movie snacks.

Max snorts, but her voice isn't mocking when she says, "Your worrying. You're pretty good at hiding it, but," she shrugs and he gets the feeling she knows the signs of someone who is unhappy and somehow isn't surprised, "we noticed."

"We don't know what you were upset about," Dustin says, throwing a _look_ in El's direction that speaks volumes about how he feels about being kept in the dark. "But you've been way happier, dude."

"And we figured a movie night would be a good way to, like, celebrate it or whatever," Lucas continues, shrugging. He looks a little embarrassed, but mostly determined to make his friend happy. 

Steve feels his lips stretching into a smile, chest warm. "Wow," he says before he has to clear his throat. "Thanks, guys."

El beams and the rest of them, even Mike, brighten up at his reaction.

"So what movies do we have to choose from and so help me Henderson, if I even _see_ the word Ghostbusters, your ass is grass."

"What?" Dustin darts his eyes left and right before he shuffles the tape from the top of the pile to the bottom instead. "Ghostbusters, who?"

Snorting, Steve plants a hand on the top of the kid's and gives it a friendly shake. He wraps an arm around El's shoulders and leads the way into the room, more than happy to spend a day watching movies with a bunch of kids who have somehow become his best friends.

"Thanks," he says again to all of them, but keeping his eyes on El a beat longer. She hugs him tight and pushes him down onto the couch, taking the spot beside him.

"You're welcome."

* * *

Between what feels like one blink and the next, it's graduation day.

Steve doesn't know where the last month went. Of course, that's not entirely true. There have been a lot of afternoons and evenings with Hopper and El—some spent continuing their attempts to convince Hopper that they can make it safe for her to attend the ceremony. The rest of the kids fill up his weekends so that he's hardly ever bored. It still feels, even now that he's not quite _dreading_ it, like the day has come too soon somehow.

He should have taken Hopper up on his offer to stay at the cabin the night before. It's always a bit of a hassle to get to school the mornings after he does, but worth it to wake up to someone making breakfast for him or getting to see El for a bit before she's stuck on her own for the rest of the day.

But with a small, silly hope, Steve slept in his own room last night in case his parents decided to be around. The rest of the house is quiet. He's not sure why he thought it might be different. It won't ruin his day, though. If his parents don't show—at this point, Steve doubts they realize what week it is—that just means he'll have more time to spend with the people who have actually been around this year.

He takes his time getting ready, not looking forward to the damage his cap is going to do to his hair. Maybe Steve can get away with not wearing it? Probably not. They were pretty clear in the rehearsal what is expected of them today. The cap and gown are required, as well as sharing a row with Hargrove. Hopefully having so many people there—having _Hopper_ there—will be enough to convince him to continue to keep to himself.

God, Steve hopes today goes well.

* * *

As expected, the ceremony itself is boring. Whoever decided it should take place out on the football field should be fired. Despite starting early, the summer sun is hot and Steve isn't the only one miserable in the stupid cap and gown combo. The gym might be lame, but at least there's a roof over it. 

He didn't get a say in the setup, though. So he's stuck, like the rest of them, hoping that the valedictorian and whoever else is speaking knows better than to keep them here with overly long speeches that no one is paying attention to or going to remember when they think back to today.

But he's _here_. It's happening. The front row of seniors line up along the side of the stage they've set up for the speakers. One by one their names are called and they cross the stage to the principal for their diplomas and a handshake. Steve expects it to feel like forever before it's time for his row to form a line, but it doesn't. Time seems to speed up with the speeches finished and names being called because before he knows it, he's waiting by the steps and hearing his own name.

He doesn't know if it's because he hasn't been paying attention or if they really are thatloud, but Steve thinks the cheers from Dustin and Hopper are the loudest of the day. His nerves calm down as he takes the few steps up to the stage and shakes the principal's hand. This is _real_. His diploma is in his hands and Hopper and the kids are cheering him on like the huge deal that it is.

It wasn't all that long ago when Steve hadn't been sure he would _survive_ until graduation. Now here he is, walking down the other side of the stage with his diploma in his hands. A high school graduate. He can hardly believe it.

The rest of the ceremony can't finish soon enough. Steve wastes no time finding Hopper after the last of the names are called and it's finally over. Maybe having the whole thing outside wasn't as terrible an idea as he thought earlier. His forehead feels sticky and gross where the cap meets his skin and his hair is probably unsalvageable, but there's no way he could have had such a large group of well-wishers if they'd used the gymnasium instead.

"Congratulations," Hopper says, pulling him into a tight hug when Steve reaches him. Dustin doesn't wait for them to be done before barrelling into the both of them. 

"Thank you," Steve says into Hopper's shoulder, holding him tight. He blindly moves a hand until he finds the top of Dustin's head to shake him fondly.

Dustin lets go first, and Steve reluctantly pulls away. Hopper keeps a hand on his shoulder. Getting to see the wide, proud smile on Hopper's face is more than worth letting go. Max surprises him with a brief hug around his middle. He barely gets the chance to return it before she's pulling away. Steve doesn't know how she managed to get out of sitting with her family, but he isn't going to complain.

Lucas grins, punching his arm. "Congrats."

"Good job not tripping up there," Mike says, disappointment clear in his voice and expression. Steve rolls his eyes, but doesn't say anything. The kid didn't sit around in the sun for hours for a _chance_ to see Steve trip over his own feet on stage. 

"Thanks, brat."

Will offers him a thumb's up that Steve returns with a grin.

"Ready to get out of here?" Hopper asks, slinging his arm around Steve's shoulders.

"Please," Steve says, letting Hopper lead them through the other families taking pictures on the field. They're waiting to take their own when they're back at Steve's house where El is waiting for them. "I need out of this thing as fast as possible."

"Well, you're going to have to be patient a little while longer." Hopper laughs and Steve snorts, nodding. El hadn't managed to talk Hopper into letting her come and she _will_ make life hell for them if she doesn't get to see Steve all cap'n'gowned up like the rest of them.

They all head for the cars. Even though they're going to see each other in a few minutes, Hopper gives Steve another hug before they leave. Will and Mike go with Hopper. Dustin takes shotgun in Steve's car while Lucas and Max seem happy enough to get the backseat to themselves.

Getting out of the parking lot doesn't take nearly as long as he feared with everyone else sticking around with their families. The rest of Steve's family is waiting, impatiently he's sure, at his house.

El is standing just outside his front door when Steve pulls up in front of Hopper's car. Steve adjusts the cap on his head when he gets out of the car and braces himself when she comes running straight for him.

"You did it!" she says excitedly into his chest. She's practically vibrating. It feels contagious and he lifts her up just to hear the surprised, happy squeal she makes.

"I did it!" He puts her down, hands on her shoulders, and lets her look him over. Her smile becomes more and more amused. Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I look ridiculous."

She shrugs and nods because _friends don't lie_ , but he doesn't mind. He's going to end up with a ton of pictures as proof of how ridiculous he looks. They haven't taken them yet and Steve already can't wait to get them developed, even if he can't put the ones he's sure to take with El anywhere someone else might see just yet.

"Are we going to stand outside all day or what?" Mike yells from the door. Steve shakes his head, squeezing El's shoulders before letting go.

He nods toward the door and she turns, joining Mike and taking his hand before they go inside. Hopper must be happy because he doesn't grunt or roll his eyes at them. His arm ends up back over Steve's shoulders as they follow the rest of the kids into the house.

His living room is set up for a party. There's music and food and people who care about him enough to show up when his own parents didn't. He sees the pride on Hopper's face and the way it's mirrored on El's every time she catches Steve's eye and Steve knows that with these people, he's found a place where he feels at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who followed along as I posted. Means a lot!


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